


Green and Silver

by Shady_Knight



Series: Green and Silver [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Hogwarts First Year, Hogwarts Second Year, Hogwarts Third Year, Multi, Older Man/Younger Woman, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slow Burn, Slytherin Harry Potter, Slytherin Politics, Tags May Change, mention of periods, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-10-08 13:38:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17387348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shady_Knight/pseuds/Shady_Knight
Summary: Harriet Potter hates her "family", the Dursleys. She desperately wants to escape their shadow and be her own person. So she wears green and silver.orHow a lonely child chooses a boy in a robes shop.





	1. Year 1

**Author's Note:**

> SS/fem!HP doesn't happen for a while yet but I didn't want to accidentally mislead anyone. There will be no Draco/Harry. Or at least never from Harry's side. What's between them is friendship and that is a big part of G&S. Draco is more likely to end up with Hermione though that is not set in stone. Canon deaths that may or may not happen are also not decided. I'll use the Warnings when they become applicable. 
> 
> A warning: Nothing is beta-ed since I don't have one. I just posted this as soon as I could before I lost the courage to do so. I'll probably rework some of it when I'm finished. So please excuse mistakes (if they are not monumental).
> 
> That said, I hope you enjoy the first part of what I hope to make a whole story.
> 
> Edit (2019-03-30): Fixed any typos and grammatical mistakes (comma etc.) that I could find.

Harriet Potter looks at the blonde boy beside her, tucking an unruly curl of reddish dark hair behind her ear as she does so. He asks her about Hogwarts, what House she'll want to be in and she remembers reading about them in Hogwarts: A History.  
"Slytherin", Harriet answers, surprising both herself and the boy. A grin forms on his pointed face and he beams at her, "Me too." He's silent for a moment. "What's your name? I want to find you later." Dread builds in her chest and she mumbles, not really wanting to relinquish her identity since she found out that she was somewhat of a celebrity here. "Harriet Potter." His surprise is only shown in his pause and Harriet would guess, months later when she knew Draco better, that his pureblood manners kicked in and prevented him from being overly dramatic or rude. He doesn't ask to see her scar, like every other person she has met. Introducing himself, Draco stretches his hand in her direction, offering it to her as a sign of friendship. She takes it gladly.

~~~

The family of redheads that help her find the right platform seems pleasant at first but when she sits down, the young ginger that is supposedly in her year joining her, she is exasperated. She'd told Draco that she would safe a seat for him. Ronald Weasley, as he is called, however is as insufferable as they come. He practically faints when she says that she is The-Girl-Who-Lived and demands stories that she cannot give him.

When she spies Draco searching for her, she quickly stands up - relieved to leave Weasley behind - grabs her trunk and tells her pale friend that they ought to find another compartment.

~~~

Draco's Sorting is quick, the Hat barely touches his blonde head when it exclaims him to be a Slytherin. Bestowing her with a reassuring smile, the Pureblood makes his way to his new table and sits down, pointedly leaving enough space for her beside him. It fills her heart with warmth that he was so sure that she'd join him but also raises her nervousness. To pass the time Harriet observes the Head Table, her green eyes catching on a dark and intense man whose eyes are fixed on her own. She blinks back rather stupidly at having been caught and rubs her forehead, the scar smarting curiously.

The Hall falls silent as her name is called and she hopes she won't fall on her way to the Sorting Hat. The rim of the old Hat almost covers her sight completely and suddenly there is a voice in her head.  ** _You are a curious one, aren't you?_**  It says and Harriet is afraid that it might not agree with her ideas. What if he puts her in Gryffindor? Would Draco still be her friend? Somehow, she doubts it.  ** _You could be great in almost all the Houses. But my strongest inclinations are Gryffindor or Slytherin. Tell me, what would you prefer?_**  

 _Slytherin_ , she thinks,  _please let it be Slytherin._  She's never had a real friend before, the snakes in Aunt Petunia's garden that she occasionally talks to don't count and she'll do anything not to lose Draco when they've just found each other.  ** _Well then. Better be-_**

"SLYTHERIN!" At first, there is no clapping, save for Draco who quickly animates the Slytherin table to do the same. Some of the older ones wear sour faces for a reason Harriet does not know but a fair share seems pleased that they got her, the famous Miss Potter. Draco's expression is reminiscent of that first smile, back in Madame Malkin's. To Harriet, that day will always be engraved in her mind just as surely as Hagrid's gruff but gentle voice telling her that she's a witch.

~~~

Having only seen her Head of House at the Feast and briefly when he gave her the timetable, Harriet is proportionally excited for the first Potions lesson of the week. It sounds like Potions was like a magical form of cooking and if she has learned something at the Dursleys then it is how to cook (and in general be a maid rather than a family member).

Professor Snape strides into the room, black robes billowing like a bat's wings and introduces them to his subject with a baritone drawl. Her hand struggles to keep up at copying what he is saying, fascinated as she is with what he is telling them. Snape notices the movement of her feather, pauses and seems almost like he is about to say something scathing when she glances up, bewildered that he would stop his speech. Their eyes meet and his black pools lose their hardness just a bit - instead of scolding her for not paying attention (from his viewpoint), the Potion Master focuses on the boy behind her, his ginger hair garish in comparison to her own muted red.

"Mr. Weasley, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" A bushy-haired girl's hand shoots up and Harriet thinks that she must be one of the over-eager ones. Isn't it clear that Snape doesn't care if anyone else knows? The Gryffindor girl isn't even spared a glance.

Weasley cannot give the answer, just shrugs and replies with a cheeky "Dunno, sir. Ask Hermione. She seems to know." Not to mention that Harriet herself has a vague memory of reading something along those lines while she prepared over the summer. She didn't want to be caught being clueless and embarrassing herself in front of others like Weasley is doing now.

~~~

It is not long before Harriet realises that being a Slytherin makes her a black sheep by default. Most don't dare approach her as she is the Girl-Who-Lived but she sees her housemates getting bullied at every turn if they are caught alone. Tracey Davis has it especially bad, as a Half-blood who is shunned by Slytherin's for her blood and by the others for being a Slytherin. Harriet's first instinct is to help but Draco tells her that she shouldn't, that Tracey has to earn it. Earn the help. When she asks him what he means, he smiles and tells her that those who don't play the Game are left behind. It unsettles her and Harriet, with her youthful determination, demands that Draco show her at once what to do to  _Win_.

~~~

He lends her books, books that he says are from the library but Harriet knows are from the Malfoys own library in their manor. She spied an owl deliver one to him once. The books talk about a broad subject of things like proper etiquette, the Pureblood families, the Old Beliefs and more controversial standpoints on history. Draco is delighted when she turns to him as she reads, depending on him to clarify things and answer her questions. He likes that she needs him to mentor her and she in turn indulges him and his brattier tendencies. They are almost never apart, becoming each other’s shadows and studying together whenever one struggles with an assignment.

~~~

Pansy Parkinson or Pug-face as Harriet secretly likes to call her is an eyesore in Harriet's early Hogwarts career. They share a dorm with only Millicent Bullstrode sleeping between them but Pansy cannot stand her. Saint Potter, she calls Harriet. Sometimes Draco laughs when she complains about his childhood friend but a smack to his head and the threats of never speaking to him again always shut him up.

Pansy's hostility is a ticking time bomb and it explodes just after Neville falls from his broom on their first Flying lesson.  
The pudgy boy's Remembrall lies on the ground. Draco is the first to see it and opens his mouth with an expression that tells Harriet that he is going to do something stupid.

She doesn't like it when he taunts the Gryffindors in their year but stays silent when it's bullies in their own right like Finnigan or Weasley who are headstrong enough to defend themselves effectively. Neville is only an innocent boy who doesn't deserve to be mocked behind his back.

So, she grabs Draco by his sleeve and fixes him with her most murderous stare when the blonde turns to her. It works and for a moment Harriet feels relieved, finally having done something that she deems just. That relief is short-lived however, as Pansy rises to the occasion and picks up the glass sphere. "Give it back Pansy.", the words are out of her mouth before Harriet knows it and she realises that she has made a mistake. Picking a fight with another Slytherin in public was just not done. You could snipe at one another as much as you like behind the closed doors of the Common Room but outside, where the other Houses can see, all Snakes stand as a united front. It is an unspoken rule and Harriet has just broken it. But it is too late to back down now.

"What did you say?", is Pansy's confused reply, not expecting any resistance at all, lest of all from someone clothed in green and silver.

"I said: Give it back. That's Neville's." Harriet's tone is commanding but controlled, her best imitation of her Head of House when he is displeased with his little serpents. Pansy recognises the challenge in Harriet's voice, this is a battle of will. One that determines just which of them is the weaker one. It is not a duel that Harriet intends on losing. If she ever wants respect from the elder Slytherins - those that sneer at her because her fame is by pure chance rather than hard work, then she needs to pull through. Harriet steps forward, using her slightly higher statue as an advantage against Pansy. She can feel Draco at her back, watching them intently and while he is her friend, she fears he will lose interest in her if she backs down. Another reason to come out on top. The Malfoy has often told her that her eyes unnerve him when she observes him for any extended amount of time and Harriet uses this knowledge to see if Pansy will feel the same.

There is a tense silence as both girls stare - none of the other students make a sound, even the Gryffindor who - while not actually understanding what is going on - realise that there is  _something_  significant about the scene. Harriet's shoulders are straining and a curl of hair is falling from its place but she doesn't dare to move as she, finally,  _finally_ catches Pansy faltering. The pug-faced brunette hands her the Remembrall with shaking fingers and Harriet nods once, letting the corners of her mouth rise.

Pansy never troubles her after that.

~~~

  
Harriet is sitting alone in the library (Draco is, for once, spending time with his two goonies who wouldn't know the way to the library with explicit directions) when the bushy-haired Gryffindor approaches her, not looking very confident in what she is doing.

"Hello, Hermione - right?", The-Girl-Who-Lived offers. Hermione nods and hands her a piece of paper, glancing at her shoes as she does. "Neville wants me to give you this. What you did for him was great! No one expected that you would stand up for him! Especially because...", the young Know-It-All trails off. "Because what?", Harriet snaps, angry despite the fact that she should be used to it by now. "Because I'm a Slytherin?" Hermione flushes, wringing her hands. "Well  _yes_...", the Gryffindor with the large teeth admits, "but you showed real bravery with Pansy! Neville was too nervous to thank you in person."

Harriet almost laughs at that, she can just imagine the flighty boy in front of her and not getting a word out. "Tell him that he doesn't need to be nervous. I'm just a normal student here like everyone else.", Hermione eyes her strangely at that and Harriet thinks she has just destroyed some worldview of hers. "As normal as I can be when I'm in history books, at least.", Harriet adds and watches Hermione blossom at the mention of books, her discomfort gone. The two of them chat awhile and Harriet learns exactly in how many books she is featured and where but eventually Hermione excuses herself to write an assignment for Transfiguration that isn't due for another two weeks.

Harriet is left wondering about the encounter and recalls that the little lioness is a Muggleborn. She mentally makes a note to tell Draco to stay away from her. Hermione is a kind girl, if a little too focused on a world of black and white and book knowledge. It is then that the redhead remembers the piece of paper in her hand and unfolds it.

 _Thank you_ , it says,  _I'll never forget that you defended me. If you ever need help with Herbology or anything, let me know. Neville._

~~~

Since the Pansy incident things have changed. The other Slytherins smile at her now, students in green ties who never paid attention to her clap her on her back, praise her.

Pansy avoids her like she is the plague, though, her pride thoroughly hurt. Harriet liked it at first but soon learns that sharing a dorm with her has become tiresome. Which is why, when Draco gives her a magazine on modern wizarding fashion (straight from his mother - Draco is sweet like that) she chases Pansy down.

"Will you help me with those hairstyle charms? I can't get them to work on myself." Pansy is pale-faced in shock and rises an eyebrow but soon finds her courage. "Oh  _girl_ , it's time you did something about that hair of yours!" Harriet offers her a hesitant smile. Draco's confusion is priceless when they enter the Common Room, chatting about what'll work on Harriet's red mane. For that, she sticks her tongue out at him over her back. His reply is an emotion mixed between annoyance and admiration.

~~~

Professor Quirrell is weird. Harriet has met people with stutters and his is like none she has ever heard. That in itself doesn't mean anything, of course, were it not for the intense headache (stemming from the  _scar_ ) his presence gives her. She just doesn't know what to make of him.

She is plenty surprised when he runs through the Great Hall during the Halloween Feast to exclaim breathlessly that there is a troll in the dungeon before fainting right on the spot. Chaos breaks out bit is swiftly stifled by the Headmaster who bids the Prefects to guide the students to their Common Room.

Harriet would have gone without protest if not for Neville Longbottom whose white face shocks her into following him when he tugs her away from the group. "Hermione's wasn't at the Feast. She has no idea that there's a troll! We have to find her!", he is frantic and Harriet does her best to calm him down, even though she is quite worried herself. "Neville, we can't just search the whole castle for her! Do you have any idea where she might be?" His face falls and he's silent for a moment. "...she was crying.", he finally mutters. "Crying?", she echoes. "Yeah, Ronald was mean to her this morning. Called her insufferable. I haven't seen her since.", Neville confesses. Harriet grabs his arm and begins a brisk walk. "Where are we going?", he asks once he stumbles after her.

"The girls’ toilets. If she wasn't at the feast nor her dorm then that's our best bet." Hermione is there but then, so is the troll. With Hermione unable to do much of anything in her current state, it falls to Harriet to distract the troll from smashing their faces in with his club. She manages to distract him enough to drop it and Hermione comes to her senses enough to tell Neville to use  _Wingardium Leviosa_. For once he manages a perfect spell on the first try (not counting the one lesson about it where he failed to cast it) and knocks the troll out by letting the heavy wooden club drop on its head. Hermione hugs Neville first and then Harriet, and that is how the teachers find the three.

Snape's stare is unreadable and Harriet notices that he is limping but cannot ask as Professor McGonagall demands an explanation. Before either Neville or she can say anything, Hermione steps in and takes the blame. It is plain to see that no one believes her but there are no arguments against it either. Just as the Deputy Headmistress is about to dismiss them, Draco Malfoy bursts into the room, frantic and squeaks when he sees the unconscious troll. His eyes then find hers and he hugs her in an instant. " _ **Harry**_ ", he says and she smiles shakily at the nickname, "Where were you? You were just  _gone_. I was  _worried_.", he lets her go and nods stiffly at the other two students, clearly a bit embarrassed. "Longbottom" and "Granger."

When she and Draco walk back to the Dungeons, she asks him how he even found her. "I followed Snape. I lost him for a bit though, so I was a little later. But you  _won't believe_  what I saw!"

Apparently, there's a three-headed dog guarding a trapdoor in a room in the Forbidden Corridor and Snape was bitten trying to get past it.

~~~

The Christmas Holidays are approaching and Harriet is trying to figure out what a Cerberus would be guarding in Hogwarts. Information is hard to come by though, no one would grant a First-Year access to the Forbidden Section and the rest of the library has been no help. Even recruiting Hermione to help her research had not brought any successes. Harriet doesn't know why but the secret of the Forbidden Corridor and Professor Snape's involvement in it feel very important to her. Draco's just as involved in the mystery though, even if he likes to pretend that he doesn't care and that the Professor will know what to do.

Harriet decides that she might visit Hagrid. If anyone knows something about magical creatures, it's him.

~~~

The dog's name is Fluffy, music puts him to sleep and he's guarding whatever Hagrid collected on that day in Gringotts. It's some item that belongs to a man called Nicholas Flamel. Harriet searches the library, finding nothing - again. She'll need to figure out how to sneak past Madam Pince. Not knowing who Flamel is bothers her, extraordinarily so - enough that she sets her pride aside to ask Draco (who hasn't heard the name either) to write his Father. He'd mentioned it as a possibility before, pointing out that either Mr. Malfoy will know ( _"My father knows everything about everybody!"_ ) or the vast library of Malfoy Manor which covers much broader subjects than the one in Hogwarts does.

And so, with the next letter that is delivered to Draco via owl, they learn that Nicholas Flamel is a famous alchemist - and the only person who can produce the Philosopher's Stone.

~~~

Hagrid, having proven himself a good source of information, receives another visit from Harriet only a week after the last, this time accompanied by Draco and Hermione who'd previously felt left out when Harriet had gone without telling them.

  
They discover a dragon called Norbert, are discovered by McGonagall because Weasley had spied on them and sent to the Forbidden Forest to help Hagrid as a detention. They split in teams - Hagrid with the two Gryffindor which leaves Draco and Harriet with Fang. Isn't it a bit unethical to leave two eleven-year-olds alone in a potentially dangerous place with only a cowardly dog as protection? (They are searching a wounded unicorn but what if they meet the thing that did the damage?)

It certainly seems eerie as they stumble upon a clearing, the cold moonlight casting luminous shadows onto a cloaked figure, leaning over a white-furred body, drops of silver blood leaking all around it. All colour drains from Draco's face at the sight and Harriet imagines that she looks no different but they manage to remain silent and hope to retreat quietly. Distraught by the dark aura seeping from this wraith, Fang whimpers and makes a dash back to where he presumably smells his master. The noise is enough to disturb the creature in front of them and it stops drinking the unicorn's blood, turning and advancing upon the both of them at an alarming speed. Harriet can barely hold back her shaking but grabs her wand harder, aware that fleeing has no use.

The children are lucky that Firenze, the centaur, arrives to save them and send them off to safety. Draco and Harriet tell Hermione of the incident and the three of them are positive that this creature can only be a very dark being. Someone who would potentially steal the Philosopher Stone (and sell Hagrid a dragon egg to find out how to incapacitate the Cerberus).

It is Hermione who points out that the only person with a pronounced desire for immortality, even at the cost of a cured half-life, is You-Know-Who himself. What they can't figure out though is what a) they should do about it and b) Snape has to do with any of this. Harriet might think that her Head of House can be mean (not to her - with her he is only ever strangely silent) and is certainly prejudiced against all others except Slytherins but he's not  _evil_. And what could be eviler than to help Voldemort rise again? No - that cannot be the answer.

~~~

Draco and she have a row a few days before it's time to leave for the holidays. Harriet is angry with him, her red-faced fury evident as she hits him with all the might of an eleven-year-old girl that is one word away from tears. In her hand is a letter, penned by Draco which had fallen out of his robes.

 _Dear Father_ , it says,  _I have done as you asked and befriended Harriet. She is...different than I expected. Than we all expected. Everyone thought she would've had private tutors, lessons to protect herself and be well-versed in the workings of the magical world. I'm only telling you this now because I did not want to be hasty and come to false conclusions but I'm sure that she knew almost nothing when she arrived here. When I asked her, she told me that she was raised by her muggle family. Imagine it! The saviour of the Light, raised by muggles! I took her under my wing (which I hope pleases you). It's weird but I think something is off with her family. She never wants to talk about them and she gets this...look. The same look that Daphne sometimes gets, you know? And I know that Daphne has this look because her father treated her badly before he was finally taken away. What if...what if Harriet is treated the same way? Should I say something? Dig around? I must admit that I've grown...fond of her. She's refreshing in a weird way. Maybe I could ask her to spend some time at the Manor, then you could see for yourself. Your son, Draco Malfoy._

"How could you", she says, not sure if it's an accusation or a question. "Was everything a lie? I  _trusted_  you, Draco!" Tears glistens in her green eyes and Draco swallows visibly. "I-I, yes I befriended you because you are  _Harriet Potter_  but don't you see that it's not just that anymore? I do care about you. What do you expect? What can I do to prove that I really am your friend?", his hand roves through the hair at his nape and Harriet feels a terrible sadness sink in her shoulders. "I don't expect anything from you, Draco. I only ever wanted you to be honest. How can I trust you again when it was all based on a lie? When you report what I do and say to your father?", she pauses, trying to speak around the constriction in her throat, voice quivering. "I need to think, Draco. Please leave me alone."

The letter flutters to the ground when Harriet sits down on an armchair and out of the periphery of her vision, she sees Draco pick it up. The tears well up, unbidden,  _he'll still send the letter, he'll-_ but he crumbles it up and throws it into the fireplace, the flames swallowing the wad of parchment instantly. The Slytherin shoots her a meaningful look as he leaves, his own grey eyes suspiciously moist. She almost calls out to him, tell him to wait but she wouldn't have known what to say, anyway.

And so, she sits, watching the fire flicker. She sits there for a long time, long enough that Pansy drags her upstairs to go to bed since they have Potion first thing tomorrow. She avoids Draco that day, and the next and the day after that. Hermione has started asking questions, too, so Harriet avoids her as well. On the day that the train leaves for London, the redhead stays in her bed, long past the time everyone would've left.

When she sits down in the Great Hall to pick at her dinner (the first thing she's eaten today), no one mentions the red tracks on her cheeks. Not that there are a lot of students left in Hogwarts to do that. The Slytherin table is almost empty, save for her and the occasional older student whom she doesn't know. The other Houses don't fare much better. She doesn't try to talk to anyone.

~~~

It's Christmas and Harriet has received gifts. The first is an unmarked one and inside is a cloak out of a shimmery cloth. When she puts it on, her body disappears.  _Invisibility cloak_ , her mind supplies, having read about it in one of the books that Draco had given her. Her next package is from Hermione and contains a few books that they'd talked about and that Harriet had mentioned she doesn't own. It is a sweet, thoughtful gift. Harriet's present to Hermione is very similar. Neville's gift comes as a surprise, yet when Harriet stops to think about it, it isn't surprising at all. They  _had_  grown closer after the troll incident - Harriet has only repressed it over her grief about the Draco situation. She immediately feels guilty for forgetting about the boy. She hadn't thought to send him a present. His gift for her is simple, a nice pair of gloves for Herbology and a box of Chocolate Frogs. The last present makes her heart ache, being packed in expensive looking green and silver wrapping and Harriet just  _knows_  that it is from Draco. She opens it with shaking hands and it contains a box and a letter. The latter she opens first, tears springing to her eyes as she reads.  _Harry, I still consider you my friend. I hope that you do, too. I talked with my father and explained to him that I'll never spy on you in his name. As for the present, my mum helped pick it out. There are also a few charms on it that she said were quite useful. See you, Draco._

The gift that his mother helped pick out ends up being an ouroboros bracelet made out of silver, the serpent's eyes the green of tiny crystals, probably emeralds. It adjusts its size to her wrist when she slips it on.

~~~

She is exploring with the Invisibility Cloak when Harriet finds  _The Room_. There is nothing in it except a covered item in the middle. When she pulls the cloth away, hands trembling a bit, a mirror greets her sight. It is huge and the top shows an inscription that doesn't make sense to Harriet at first - then she tries to read it backwards, it is a mirror after all, and comes up with  _I show not your face but your heart's desire_.

Harriet looks down, curious and sees her own leaf-green eyes reflected back at her. Everything seems normal until a second person steps into frame, his blonde hair tousled. Draco comes up to mirror-Harriet and hugs her once before slinging his arm over her shoulders and grinning mischievously at the real Harriet. Her mirrored image does the same when a large hand comes from behind to tousle her hair. Two other people emerge from beyond and even though she has never seen a picture of them, Harriet knows that they are her parents, smiling proudly at mirror-Harriet. Lily and James Potter. Harriet feels tears in her eyes and sits down, touching the smooth glass with unsure fingertips. The reflection-that-is-not-actually-a-reflection doesn't move and Harriet puts her forehead (that cursed forehead with the  _scar_ ) onto the cool surface, breathing with uneven puffs.

She sits like this until she is too tired to keep her eyes open, reluctantly leaving for the dungeons and her bed. The next day find her exactly like the day before, leaning against the mirror, as close as her eyes allow her while still viewing the moving image in its entirety.

She almost cracks her head on the mirror when she hears a male voice, the voice of the Headmaster. Scrambling up, she tries to wipe away the tears but she knows that he has seen them. "Back again, Harriet?", he asks, voice solemn. She nods, not trusting her voice. "You, like many before you, have discovered the Mirror of Erised. Do you know what it does?" Another nod and Harriet rubs her damp hands on her trousers, needing to do something to distract herself from the mortification of being found like this. "Then you must understand how dangerous it is, to come back again and again. Many have lost their mind over this mirror." His tone is serious, yet gentle and Harriet realises that this is the first real conversation she has had with the Headmaster. It seems curious, considering that she sees him every day at the Head Table. Like knowing someone while not knowing them at all.

He doesn't ask what she sees, probably guessing the most obvious thing ( _her parents_ ) and being quite right. Harriet is polite or diplomatic enough (Slytherin has taught her some courtesy) to not inquire either. A heart's desire is a very private thing after all.

She never returns after that day. What she does do is write Draco a letter, thanking him for his Christmas present, signing it with  _Your friend, Harry_. While she might not be able to do anything about her parents, repairing her friendship with Draco is do-able. And she shouldn't waste her time.

~~~

When the holidays are over, she and Draco are glued together like nothing ever happened. The only difference is that Harriet smiles like an idiot for a while whenever she sees him writing, the silver quill the present she sent him on Christmas despite their fight (as he had done).

~~~

It takes long months before anything of great importance happens. There are, of course, the odd occurrences like finding Snape threatening the stuttering Quirrell at night but Harriet, Draco and Hermione bide their time, waiting if something will happen in regards to the Philosopher Stone.

  
What happens is that Dumbledore doesn't appear during breakfast, Professor McGonagall telling them in Transfiguration that he is away for the day. The three immediately suspect that the wraith of the forest could use this opportunity and decide to check on Fluffy, just in case. They tell Neville - whom they've otherwise kept entirely ignorant - that he should alert a teacher if they haven't returned in an hour or two at the latest.

What Harriet and the other two find is a sleeping Cerberus. They breeze through the teacher's tasks with Harriet remembering the titbit about Devil's Snare because of a conversation with her  _cowardly lion_  (Hermione laughs at the nickname - Neville didn't get it at the time). Draco catches the key for them while the chess game is a group effort - neither of them is particularly great at it (it's the first time Harriet wishes that Weasley were her friend) but together they manage to put the enemy King in a checkmate. The next room - the last room, is a potion riddle (clearly devised by Harriet's Head of House) and it is a little funny because Professor Snape made the effort to have it  _rhyme_. Harriet could have solved it - she's sure of it; but it's Hermione's time to shine and the smart Gryffindor probably solves the riddle way quicker than Harriet would've done. The vial that will let the drinker through the fire is  _so small_  though - barely enough to get in and out. It is definitely not enough for multiple people. And so, Harriet makes the most logical decision.

"I'll go", she says, voice grave and face grim, "If anything happens...well, nobody'll have to tell my parents.", she reasons and then adds, her inappropriate humour showing, "The Dursleys will probably be happy to be rid of me." Hermione's indignant huff and Draco's darkening expression are her answer. "Don't you dare", Hermione commands, as bossy as ever, "don't even talk like that. You'll be fine! Neville will have already alerted the teachers! You just need to stall whoever is on the other side long enough for them to arrive!" For all her bossy words, the bushy-haired girl still flings herself into Harriet's arms, only very reluctantly letting go of the famous redhead. Draco's silence is telling in it's graveness.

Harriet steels herself, drinks half of the potion and steps through the fire that is now merely cool against her skin. The first thing she sees is purple. A purple turban in front of an all-too-familiar mirror. It is Quirrell standing in front of the Mirror of Erised, Quirrell who can barely stutter his way through a DADA lesson. Quirrell who makes her scar itch uncomfortably. The itch that is worsening into pain; Harriet already feels a headache building behind her eyes.

Watching him, she can suddenly only think of one thing. It was Voldemort who gave her the scar. This very magical scar. Why wouldn't it react and recognize him? " **You**  are Voldemort.", she whispers, loud enough for him to hear because there aren't any sounds to mask it. "But...how?", she questions, unthinkingly. And then a voice emerges that is not Quirrell and he is taking his turban off, and  _there is a face on the back of his head_. Like a leech, a parasite, Voldemort is there. "You dare to speak my name!" Harriet is not above admitting that she is  _terrified_. This is the man who killed her parents. "I was very surprised,  _Miss Potter_ ", he says as if her name is a sickness he must expel, "to find you a serpent! Who would've thought that  _the saviour_ would be a disciple of Slytherin! My very  _own_ house.", by that he seems pleased, pleased that The-Girl-Who-Lived is not a golden child - that she cannot be a shining  _Light_. After all, who - save for a few - would trust a Slytherin? Her colours inspire the other houses to bully helpless children - those who do not have the protection of a famous name. It is fortunate that there are no Muggleborn in Slytherin - they would be eaten alive.

Voldemort forces her to look into the mirror to find the hidden Stone and she feels it sink into her pocket when Quirrell/Voldemort turns violent, interpreting the surprised look on her face and clawing at her to get the Stone she just received. Briefly, she wonders why he doesn't use his wand,  _is he perhaps to weak or simply too unstable?_  but she doesn't have a lot of time on her hands. Harriet struggles to get away from him but Quirrell is faster, his longer strides her downfall and she unthinkingly slaps at his face, anything to keep him away from her. The pained yelp that emits from Quirrell surprises her and she watches as his skin turns to dust where she touched it, fascinated by the process. It seems to hurt him terribly and that is exactly what Harriet needs. She reaches out again, placing the palms of her hand square on his cheeks, pressing down hard. He attempts to pry her off, unsuccessfully as his hands, too, blister and fade when he touches her. There is no pity within her heart, her parents' faces fresh in her mind from looking at the mirror. Soon he falls on his back and Harriet follows him onto the ground, burning him with her touch. Her headache increases tenfold and spots blot out her vision but she holds fast, not letting go, tears of pain smearing together with the dust that was once Quirrell. Dimly, she thinks that she hears something like hurried footsteps echoing. Consciousness slipping, she watches as Quirrell ceases to struggle, the last of him crumbling. And then, nothing.

~~~

Harriet wakes up to several faces. Hermione and Draco, she expected, and Neville is there too, both Gryffindors looking suspiciously red-eyed. Draco is paler than she's ever seen him. Professor Dumbledore is there, as well, smiling a kind and comforting smile, blue eyes twinkling. Professor Snape is also present, standing in a corner like a ghost or shadow, arms crossed. He doesn't exactly look pleasant and doesn't say a word in the time that he is there. In fact, he leaves only a few moments after he realises that she has woken up. Her friends swarm her, asking if she is alright and Harriet smiles, telling them that she is perfectly fine. Dumbledore gently asks them to leave and let her rest.

As soon as the three leave, Harriet's smile drops and she holds her head which is still smarting quite a bit. Dumbledore raises his brow but says nothing about it, instead opting to watch her over his half-moon glasses. She is the first to break the silence. "Quirrell, he...he carried Voldemort with him.", Dumbledore nods, his hair seeming greyer than before as he sobers up. "Yes. And because of you, his plans have met a major setback."

"He truly isn't dead then, is he?", Harriet asks, sounding tired beyond her years. "No. But I suspect that you already knew that. You have proven to be an excellent pupil, a good judge of character and a perfectly reasonable person in your time here, Harriet. I believe that, regardless of what time may bring, you will end up on top.", he grins then, the years melting from his frame, "But you should always remember to accept help from those who are willing to give it. Be it your friends or other, unexpected, allies." He takes her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Not everything must be as it seems, as Quirrell has proven in a most unfortunate way."

~~~

The rest of the school year (which is only a few weeks) is uneventful in comparison. Slytherin wins the House Cup (the eighth time in a row as Draco proudly tells her) and the summer holidays arrive sooner than Harriet would've wanted. Harriet shivers at the thought of returning to the Dursleys and wishes for  _something_  to intervene. Nothing happens. She promises to write her three closest friends (she would never tell him but it is Draco she considers her best friend) and even Pansy asks if Harriet wants to attend her birthday party (Harriet politely declines, knowing that she would have no way of coming - Uncle Vernon isn't going to decide to pay for a train ticket that expensive).

At the end, Harriet boards the train with her classmates and leaves it in the back of a car that smells like sweat with Vernon's cursing about having to get her. "Are you even listening? You should be grateful, you hear? If you were my sister's ward, she'd have made you walk the whole way home!", she agrees with everything he says - it's easier that way - preparing for Dudley's taunts and fists and Petunia's haughty indifference.  
Her aunt might tell her son not to hit girls but she has never stopped him either. And Dudley will only have grown in their year apart.

Harriet closes her eyes and dreams of green and silver, of home, of Hogwarts.

 


	2. Year 2, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Year 2 was originally supposed to be one part as well but it got pretty long, so I split it into two parts to be able to post quicker.

The summer holidays are difficult for Harriet, to say the least. She receives no letters, there are bars on her window (Vernon tells her that she should be grateful for even  _having_  a window) and, while the Dursleys were wary of her at first and left her alone, they realised quickly that Harriet is not actually allowed to use magic outside of school. Dudley's hostility toward her has only increased - all of the year's frustration finding their outlet in  _Harriet Hunting_. Harriet cooks, Harriet cleans and tends to the garden like Hogwarts never happened. And if that makes tears burn in her eyes, well no one at her  _home_  gives a damn.

What is unfortunate is that after months of proper nutrition her body is not used to so little food anymore. She has episodes when she feels like she will faint, when she feels too light-headed to walk straight but Vernon is always there, willing to lend a  _helping hand._  It is that threat that keeps her on her feet.

Not having any contact has also proved painful - in the sense that Harriet misses her friends terribly and secretly begins to wonder if they are happy to be rid of her. Harriet's two comforts are Hedwig, her owl, whom she feeds with scraps of the food that is meant for Harriet and the thought that Hogwarts is only a summer away.

~~~

One day, something curious happens. A tiny creature appears in Harriet's bedroom with a  _pop_. Its eyes are large like tennis balls and its ears flap at the sides of its head. It only wears a crudely cut sheet.  _A House-Elf,_  Harriet thinks, having seen some in Hogwarts leaving and entering the Kitchens. But what would a House-Elf do here, in Privet Drive?

"Miss Potter cannot return to Hogwarts for the next year.", it states and all wonder that Harriet felt is gone, overtaken by confusion and incredulity. "What?", she replies, "Who even are you?" The House-Elf twitches at her harsh tone, scrambling to answer with its squeaky voice, "Dobby's name is Dobby. Dobby is here to prevent Miss Potter from returning to Hogwarts." Harriet could swear that the name seems familiar - as if she has heard it before. "Why should I not return to Hogwarts, Dobby? Hogwarts is my home. I love it there." She says, sitting down and looking at his enormous eyes. His bat-like ears flop when he shakes his head: "Miss simply cannot return! Dobby knows of great danger!" The red head furrows her brows, the House-Elf is not making any sense.

"What danger, Dobby, what do you mean?" "Dobby cannot tell. Dobby is bad and disobeying, Dobby must-", the elf smashes his head against the foot of Harriet's bed and the she gasps, instinctively flinching away from the sight. But soon her hands reach out, tearing at the elf's arms and dragging him away from anything with which he can hurt himself. "Shh, Dobby, stop! You'll alarm the Dursleys! You don't want them coming here and punishing me, do you?", she explains in terms that she hopes the House-Elf will understand. He shakes his head, tears gathering in his large eyes. "Then you must go, Dobby. If I don't go to Hogwarts and stay here, the Dursleys will hurt me! ", there is truth in her words, even though she says it to get rid of him. Harriet hopes that he can sense her sincerity. "But Hogwarts is not safe for Miss Potter!", he again tries to argue but The-Girl-Who-Lived shakes her head, sadder than she cares to admit. "Don't you see, Dobby? I'm in danger either way. If you care about my well-being, wouldn't it be better if I was at least happy? Hogwarts makes me happy. Magic makes me happy. If I stay here, I'll never have that again. Do you understand, Dobby?"

The little elf looks very solemn for a few moments before nodding. "Dobby understands." Harriet allows herself a small smile, wiping imaginary dust from her bed sheets absentmindedly. "That's good, Dobby. You're a good elf. But you must never return Dobby, do you hear me? And never speak of this again." She can see him hesitating, whatever it is that is a danger to her must be very grave indeed for this strange elf to be so bothered. Harriet contemplates asking him further questions about it but doubts that he will tell her anything. He's more likely to start banging his head against something again.

Dobby looks like he is about to open his mouth when he jumps and winces. "Dobby is being summoned by his Master. Dobby must go or Master will be displeased." Before Harriet can reply - or even blink really, he is gone with another  _pop_ , vanishing as quickly as he came. She can't help but remember the haunted look that overtook Dobby's eyes, talking about his master. But staying true to her command, Dobby never returns.

~~~

"Freak!" Harriet lifts her head, setting the book that she has been reading aside. The insult is like a second name to her, she reacts to it unthinkingly. Better that way than angering Vernon by not coming when called. He sounds displeased which in itself is not a novelty but there is another timbre to it, one that Harriet cannot place. So she scrambles up and descends the stairs, almost stumbling over a step or two in her hurry to arrive as quickly as she can.

Vernon is waiting in the hallway, his face reddish. He looks embarrassed. Or infuriated. Maybe both. The portly man gestures to the closed entrance door. He clears his throat, "There is a woman and a boy who are asking after you.", his meaty finger points at her, "You better mind your manners. Wouldn't want your  _imagination_  to run away from you and cause you to babble." The  _You better not mention that we are anything but the perfect foster family to you._  is clear to her by now. She has a lot of experience lying about  _that_.

Harriet barely has time to wonder who'd want to talk to  _her_  as Uncle Vernon shoves her towards the door, her feet stumbling clumsily against the sudden momentum. Her fingers close around the doorknob and she twists, revealing two platinum haired visitors. Feeling her heart stop, Harriet gasps in surprise. "Draco!", she exclaims, adding, "And Mrs. Malfoy?", the woman inclines her head, confirming her identity. The Lady Malfoy is a very beautiful woman - sharp, pale features, full lips and barely a wrinkle on her face. Draco appears to have grown in the last few weeks but it could also be Harriet's imagination. "What are you doing here?", she asks, finally. "We're here to invite you to stay at the Manor with us for the rest of the holidays! You didn't reply to any letters and I thought, you know, you live with  _Muggles_  and...", he trails off, looking at his shoes. Harriet can guess what he left unsaid. He worries about her family's treatment of her. 

~~~

The Dursleys are only too happy to be rid of her. So, she packs her bags and Mrs. Malfoy apparates them back to their house which is more of villa, really.

(Apparition makes Harriet’s stomach churn unpleasantly - she is happy not to have eaten anything today.)

Harriet meets Draco's father, the Malfoy patriarch and one of the richest and most influential men in the Wizarding World. He is very good-looking with his long blonde hair and piercing grey eyes and Harriet thinks that if Draco grows half as handsome as his father, he will have girls falling all over him.

She certainly feels very plain in front of them, in boy's clothes several sizes too big with her unruly red hair (that Pansy has given up on), unnerving green eyes, freckles over the bridge of her nose and that damned scar on her forehead. She is happy that her sight could be corrected with a bit of magic (that Draco had provided her with). At least she doesn't wear those horrible taped glasses anymore. While Harriet does have more than enough money in her vault to afford a proper wardrobe and all number of things, the Dursleys don't like seeing her in anything wizard-y looking and won't allow a trip to Gringotts so that Harriet can exchange her Galleons for pounds. She also cannot imagine they would take well to Harriet having more expensive things than their precious Dudley.

That is why she is in this situation now, deeply ashamed of her looks as Lucius Malfoy scrutinizes her, something like distaste curling his lips. "Dobby", he calls, and Harriet feels like a thunderbolt is racing through her. This is where she heard the name before. Draco has mentioned their House-Elf, Dobby. The creature appears, shoulders hunched as if expecting a beating and cowers even more when he sees  _her_. She stares at him accusingly, her anger simmering just below the surface, until Mr. Malfoy breaks her concentration. "Help this young lady to some proper clothes and a bath." Harriet blushes to the roots of her hair, ashamed of her state, feeling horribly out of place.

When everything is dealt with, she returns to the Manor's drawing room and finds the three Malfoys looked in heated conversation. They immediately quieten when they sense her arrival and Harriet has a growing suspicion that the argument was about her. Mr. Malfoy studies her intensely when she greets them again, his pale eyes boring right through her soul and The-Girl-Who-Lived is suddenly more nervous than she can ever remember being.

When she had faced Quirrell, she wasn't nervous, she had been terrified and everything then had been so quick, she hadn't been able to process anything. This, this is slow and torturous. It feels like a test that Harriet doesn't know how to pass. "You do clean up nicely, Miss Potter.", drawls Lucius Malfoy lastly, taking her worries away all at once and replacing them with indescribable relief.

~~~

Her time at the Manor is nice, if a bit strange at first. It is evident that Draco's parents love him with all their hearts, even though they are still Purebloods which results in a traditional distance and Draco's respect of the (political) position of his parents. It is something that Harriet is unused too, she doesn't know what to do with all the attention and Mrs. Malfoy can tell, she muses, thinking back to the woman's knowing looks. But Harriet feels nothing but gratitude for the Malfoys for housing her and even slightly forgives Mr. Malfoy for trying to set his son up as a spy.

In a way, she understands the move. It is so very  _Slytherin_ and she can't fault the Malfoys for recognizing the usefulness of a 'friend' in The-Girl-Who-Lived. She was just a name to them then. She hopes they feel differently now.

~~~

They go to Diagon Alley together and Harriet gets roped into a picture with Gilderoy Lockhart, their soon-to-be DADA teacher, her arms full of free signed copies of all of his works while Draco begins a fight with Ron Weasley. Arthur Weasley steps in and Mr. Malfoy intervenes as well, his cold eyes staring the other man down.

Harriet sees Mr. Malfoy slip something in the Weasley girl's cauldron but dismisses it - Draco's father has done enough for her that he doesn't deserve to be interrogated by her.

~~~ 

It is four days before they are due to return to Hogwarts when Harriet  _bleeds_  for the first time. It is a horrifying experience when she wakes up to soiled sheets and cramping abdomen and she is shocked enough to forget herself and wail - a high, shrill sound.

To her great relief it is Mrs. Malfoy who arrives first and immediately understands the situation upon seeing Harriet's tear-stained face and the blood. When Narcissa Malfoy raises her hands to sooth the young witch, Harriet flinches back unwillingly, all too aware that a scene like this would have earned her a beating at the Dursley's house. If Narcissa notices her reaction, and she  _must have_ , she doesn't mention anything. Instead, she ushers her husband and son away, practically orders the both of them not to bother her and Harriet for a while and sits down with the terrified girl (after getting Dobby to take away the sheets and bring  _equipment_ ).

Their talking leaves Harriet with quite a bit more knowledge (Petunia had certainly never bothered).

~~~

Only once does Harriet catch Mr. Malfoy alone. She is uncertain if she should approach him at first but ultimately does, reminding herself of the Face-at-the-back-of-the-head. A mere man like Lord Malfoy should not be a challenge after that, she thinks, smiling wryly to herself.

He addresses her without turning. "Miss Potter. Isn't it curious that you are here, in this house?", the wizard says, pointedly looking away from her. She pauses, her eyebrows drawing together. "Why would it be curious?", she asks, voice carefully blank. "Acknowledging that the very wizard who took away your parents and gave you your cursed title has been under this very same roof, I would consider it  _quite curious_  to see you at the Manor." Harriet gulps. She knows that the Malfoys supported Voldemort in the war, allegedly under the Imperius Curse. She's not dumb enough not to know this, being a Slytherin and all. Several of her housemates' parents were on  _His_  side. It's why some of them will always hate her, holding her accountable for their parents' misfortunes.

"You are not responsible for what Voldemort does, Lord Malfoy.", he flinches when she says the name which is something she does intentionally. She doesn't fear You-Know-Who's name, it just seems stupid.

His eyes linger on his left sleeve and Harriet thinks that that is where Voldemort's mark must be - the brand for his Inner Circle. "How... _noble_ of you to say so.", is the reply, a hint of a sneer in it. Harriet wonders if he is mocking her for being too forgiving. But she does not ask, letting silence linger between them.

"My son", he starts then, his eyes pinning her now - and she can see the politician in them, the cut-throatness swirling in their pale depths. It is intimidating, especially to a twelve-year-old but without actually being hostile. "has developed quite the fixation on you.", Mr. Malfoy voice sounds breezy, almost as if talking about the weather, his fingers toying with a bit of stray parchment. His eyes are the only thing that betray the intensity of his interest as he looks at her, searching for whatever the Malfoy heir sees in her.

"Draco is my friend.", the redhead supplies, not sure what else to say. She isn't in a place to know why Draco adores her so. Or any of her friends, really. Even now, she doesn't understand why anyone would be interested in her beyond her fame. But, she guesses, that's her insecurity talking. Bred and nurtured by the Dursleys. "You must understand, Miss Potter, the unique position you are in.", he continues, practically ignoring her statement. "What you do, who you associate with - it carries weight within our world. The whole of Britain is watching you. Hogwarts may keep you relatively save from it all for a while but I can assure you; you are going to be the Ministry's pet project once you leave the protection of the castle. So why, tell me, would you choose my family?", he asks, expression bordering on sour, angered at not being able to figure out this puzzle.

"Why does it bother you?", Harriet asks, "When you sent Draco to befriend me in the first place?", she bites out, voice poisonous with a hurt that, despite what she thought, hasn't properly healed. Mr. Malfoy flinches at that, rearing back the slightest bit. "How do you-", he stops himself, the answer not so hard to figure out.

"Draco was never supposed to care.", he finally says, tired and Harriet is struck by the honesty in his explanation. She hadn't thought Lord Malfoy capable. Her eyes sting as she mumbles "What do you mean?" She is not certain she wants to know. "Why am I even talking about this with you? You're just a stupid child. A stupid child that doesn't realise the consequences of her actions! Don't you know what situation you have created for my family?", Harriet jumps at the insult, flashing back to a small cupboard and large fists pounding against wood. She shakes her head in lieu of a verbal reply, red curls dancing across her tense shoulders. "When the Dark Lord returns -  _when_  and not  _if_  - my family will have to go back to his service. And  _He_ will not rest until  _you_  are dead, Harriet Potter.", he shoots her a weary dark look. A lump forms in her throat, anxiety building within her chest.

"I-I don't actually  _want_  to cause problems.", she squeaks, "I don't even want to fight  _Him_. I don't want revenge. I'm not dense. I know that I couldn't beat him in a duel. You said it yourself, I'm a kid. I'm twelve. And Draco is my  _friend_. Do you think I care what family he is from? He was the first person my age who showed me kindness and didn't care about my fame. I'll defend our friendship before Voldemort if that is what I have to do! I'll do everything so he doesn't have to choose. That is what you are worried about, isn't it? That he'll choose the  _wrong thing_. But Mr. Malfoy extend me an olive branch. I was starting to think that you didn't mind me being here. Mrs. Malfoy was  _kind_ , she treated me like her own daughter. Was that all a lie?" He keeps silent, visibly grinding his teeth.

"And I resent the fact that everyone seems to think that I already have this path all laid out for me! Can't I be my own person?", the last part comes out half-broken, the dams flooding her eyes with frustrated tears. Machiavellian as Mr. Malfoy seems to be, he is still a father and softens just the slightest bit at her display of vulnerability. "You are The-Girl-Who-Lived, Miss Potter", he mutters, "Your scar means that you belong to everybody but yourself." She is trembling, hands fisting at her sides. "I am not willing to be some paragon for the Light, the Ministry or anyone!", she seethes, her cheeks gaining an angry blotchy red hue. "I don't even think that I  _can_." It is an admission that she regrets as soon as she makes it, wanting to keep the truth close to her chest. How can she be good, when everything points in the wrong direction for her? A Slytherin, her wand the twin of Voldemort's, friends with the heir of one of the darkest families out there? Not to mention her ability to talk to snakes. Her status as  _Parselmouth_. She has researched it, she  _knows_  how uncommon it is, that the only known speakers of Parseltongue are those of Slytherin's line - the last recorded one being You-Know-Who  _himself_. Is there any way to be more suspicious than she already is? Truly, her only redeeming factors are her friendship with Neville and Hermione and her part in keeping the Philosopher’s Stone from Voldemort/Quirrell. And yet very few of these things that damn her are things that she can change. Fate just has it out for Harriet Potter. With those thoughts running through her head, Harriet storms away, ending the conversation that, ultimately, will go nowhere. She's not about to apologize to Draco's father for being his son's friend.

Mr. Malfoy doesn't bother her for the rest of her stay and Harriet is really quite glad, for his distance and for that eye-opening discussion. Being the silly girl that she is, she had foolishly thought that she could have some happiness in her life. Beautiful Mr. Malfoy, so handsome with his fair hair and lilting voice (it would have been so easy to develop a crush on him), has set her straight. 

~~~ 

Going back to Hogwarts is a relief. It helps her not to think about those things that bother her too much. Harriet throws herself into studying, almost rivalling Hermione in her ferocity (not really, her bushy-haired friend is simply  _insane_ ).

Draco is distracted the first weeks, excited for the Quidditch try-outs and pestering her to join him during practise, insisting that she is good enough on a broom to make the team if she wants. She declines with a laugh and tells him that that kind of danger is not her thing (trouble always seems to find her nonetheless so she doesn't need to actively get herself into risky situations).

Professor Lockhart is disappointment, as Harriet suspected. She thinks that the adventures described in his books (which she didn't read, thank you very much - she's going from Hermione's summary of them) cannot be real - he's nothing but a fraud. She wonders how Dumbledore didn't realise it when interviewing the man. He doesn't even know how to take care of ordinary Pixies.

~~~

She is walking from one of Lockhart's infuriating lessons (Draco hot on her heels to calm her down) when she hears  _a voice_. She cannot quite make out what it says, only snippets - but they are enough to disturb her plenty. " **Kill, kill, kill.** "

She stops dead in her tracks when she hears it but Draco's confused reaction tells her that  _he_  hasn't heard a thing.

 _Hearing voices that no one else hears can't be good_ , she thinks as she follows the sounds down the corridor, her blonde companion trailing behind her, occasionally asking where they are going (but not receiving an answer). When the two of them finally reach their destination, both are shocked into speechlessness - there are no words to describe the horror they are seeing.

The wall is smeared with blood, a message.  _The Chamber has been opened. Enemies of the Heir beware._  Mrs. Norris, stiff as a board, hung up by her tail and below that a puddle of water. The cat looks dead. No movement to her chest. "Oh God." is what leaves Harriet's mouth after a moment, a choked and horrified cry. It is Filch that finds them first and Harriet's heart breaks a little when he falls to his knees in front of the body ( _corpse_?) of his beloved pet.

Her sympathy is fleeting, however, as the caretaker turns his eyes upon her as the culprit (ignoring Draco entirely). " _You_!", he hisses and Harriet is genuinely afraid for her well-being when his hand closes around her arm in an iron-grip. She stumbles after him when he begins dragging her - and is relieved to find that Dumbledore and a few Professors are quick to intercept them after a few steps.

It turns out that Mr. Norris is only petrified and can be cured within a few months with the help of Mandrakes. 

~~~

It happens again, just the same cruel chant that no one besides her hears, and when she follows it, she finds a Gryffindor boy with a camera, Colin Creevey as Harriet finds out later. She is the first to arrive at the scene ( _again_ ) - and isn't that incriminating? She practically feels the tense looks that the Professors give her.

~~~

Everyone is worried after that event. There is talk of the Chamber of Secrets, of Slytherin's monster stalking through the halls, ready to reign down terror upon all Muggleborn.

That is why Dumbledore tasks Professor Lockhart with starting the Duelling Club. The celebrity is as pompous as ever, making a spectacle of himself and introducing Professor Snape as his 'assistant'. The disdain on mentioned's face at that title is evident.

At first, they are instructed to form pairs to practise spells, Harriet's partner ending up Hermione, but Lockhart soon finds out that that doesn't work and that chaos is the only result of such disarray. It is that what makes the twat call out her name, to demonstrate shielding to the students. Hermione begins to ascend the stairs as well when Lockhart stops her and instead beckons Weasley forward. "You've already proved that you two can work together. I want to see how Miss Potter fares with a partner that she is not accustomed to.", is his explanation as he flashes the older female students that are swooning over him a charming smile. Harriet almost has to gag.

When she looks over at Weasley, his eyes are filled with annoyance.  _Still doesn't like me, then._  Privately, Harriet thinks that his pride is hurt by her rejection of him.  _Add to that the colour of my tie and, hurrah, you've got yourself an arch-nemesis. Not that I even care about what that idiotic ginger is up to_. Though, she must say she admires that he can swallow his dislike of her long enough to perform the proper duelling customs. She hadn't thought him capable, bull-headed as he is.

Harriet has barely begun to turn after her third step when Weasley's first spell whizzes past her, missing her only by a fraction. She is quick to retaliate with the Leg-Locking-Spell _,_ hoping to embarrass him rather than hurt him. But he, miraculously, is able to dodge it, face going red. He sends an Expelliarmus in her direction, the red jet's aim true as she conjures up a crude shield at the last second to keep the spell from hitting her just below the collarbone. Ronald's frustration spikes at that and she can see him thinking hard.

Then he raises his wand again, casting "Serpensortia!". A jet-black snake emerges from the tip of his wand, landing on the floor with a thump; sleek body coiled and ready to strike. The students around them go a bit white in the face and Gilderoy steps in with a flourish, declaring that he'll take care of the snake. His incantation only makes the serpent fly several feet into the air, however, only angering it in the process. The snake hisses threateningly in Lockhart's direction before turning its head in Justin Finch-Fletchley's direction who is one of the closest to the stage.

Harriet panics and does the first thing that comes to mind. " **Stop!** ", she tells the serpent, feeling her tongue twist around the word, a sign that she has slipped into Parseltongue. A collective gasp goes through the crowd as the snake actually listens and looks at Harriet through curious slitted pupils. " **You are a speaker?** ", it asks, tilting its scaled head, " **I've never met one of those.** " Harriet nervously wrings her hands and crouches down (because she might as well, everyone already knows what she can do). " **Yes, I Speak. Can you please leave the others alone? I know that you must be angry, but Weasley made a mistake by summoning you.** " The serpent inclines its head and lets its body relax a fraction, enough that Harriet can see that her command is obeyed.

Unconsciously she inches closer toward the snake, hand extended, suddenly fascinated by the light gleaming off of onyx scales. The creature meets her halfway, slithering its head and body across her fingers and the palm of her hand, sharp eyes drooping at the soft contact. Harriet is spellbound, completely distracted by the experience and does not notice Professor Snape stepping in front of her, whispering the counter spell "Vipera Evanesca" and sending the snake back from whence it came. Harriet jumps when her new acquaintance disappears and is even more surprised when she is hauled up by strong hands and dragged out of the room by her Head of House, leaving behind a flock of shocked faces.

They do not speak as they briskly walk down the stairs to the Dungeons and take a sharp left turn that leaves them in front of his office - which Professor Snape shoves her into, shutting the door again just as quickly. He doesn't even sit down as he positions himself behind his desk, leaving her standing in the middle of the room, her mind reeling.

"What. was. that?", he demands, each word drawn out with his low tone. Harriet grabs the hems of her sleeves and tugs at them, a nervous habit. "I can talk to snakes.“, she stutters dumbly, brain short-circuiting. Snape raises an eyebrow at that as if to say  _Really? Are you stupid?_ "Clearly." is what leaves his mouth instead. "But why, pray tell, have you kept this ability a secret?", he drawls, watching her out of the corners of his eyes as he begins to pace. "I didn't think it would help my cause, sir."

"Your cause? What do you mean, Miss Potter? Use your words - prove you're not as dim-witted as you appear." That stings. "Well, with all of that Chamber of Secrets stuff, I didn't think it would look good to be a Parselmouth.", the redhead can't supress the sliver of smart-assery that slips into her tone. "Ah.", is Snape's flat reply, "So what were you thinking just a few minutes ago? Surely, it must have crossed your mind that everyone will have witnessed your little display?"

"I didn't think about it, sir, the snake threatened Justin, I only wanted to-"

"It doesn't matter what you wanted to do!", he cuts her off, his exasperation showing in his near-growl, "You needn't have done anything! Or didn't you trust that the teacher in charge had control of the situation?" Harriet's forehead wrinkles at that and a sly smile forms on her lips, "With all due respect, sir, I don't believe Professor Lockhart to be-", but she is interrupted again, her Potion teacher being gracious enough to silence her with his raised hand and not by speaking over her this time. "I was talking about myself.", he clarifies dryly but she can see in the slant of his lips that he agrees with her assessment of Lockhart.

He is quick to get back to the actual subject though, as his arms cross in front of his body, eyes just short of glowering. "Because of your stupidity you'll be the prime candidate for the title of Heir of Slytherin! You've effectively managed to estrange yourself from most of your peers. Made yourself an even bigger target than you already are.", he tells her sombrely - as Harriet is used from her Head of House.

She has never actually seen him really and truly upset. Even when he raises his voice, in the rare occasion that he has to (he, like Professor McGonagall, has a voice that just fills the room, regardless of the volume at which he speaks - a voice that you listen to), he is always very controlled and collected. Harriet cannot deny the truth of his statement and wonders just why he even  _cares_. Last year he had barely spared her a glance. Had never given her points or anything really. It was as if he liked to pretend that she doesn't actually exist. The-Girl-Who-Lived doesn't voice that thought, she's not stupid or masochistic enough to risk a God-knows-how-long amount of days spent in detention for being rude.

"Do you think the Headmaster will want to see me, Professor?", she asks tilting her head because she genuinely wants to know. The black-haired man pinches the bridge of his nose, shooting her a long-suffering look, "I cannot claim", he begins, "to have insight into Professor Dumbledore's actions. He does as he wishes with little regard to the  _comfort_  of others." Is Harriet crazy or can she sense some old bitterness in that? She nods understandingly and notices for the first time that her hair has escaped from the braid that she had forced it into just before the start of Duelling Club. When it did that, she doesn't question. It'd be futile anyway.

Shifting from one foot to the other, Harriet wonders about the awkward silence that ensues. "Am I", she dares to ask, "excused?" Professor Snape stops in his tracks, halting the slow sound of his feet on the stone floor. "No.", he says simply, studying her for a moment. Harriet would like to know what he sees when he looks at her, the black depths of his eyes seeming to perceive so much. Does he see The-Girl-Who-Lived or just another troublesome student?

"How long have you known?", he inquires after long and excruciating seconds of waiting. "About being a Parselmouth? - I found out about the name for it last year but I've known that I can talk to snakes since I was very young." And how scared she had been when a snake slithered across her feet in her cupboard, only to  _understand_  what its hisses meant? Harriet had thought for a while that she had gone insane. But when the snakes did what she told them, she figured that it was simply a part of what made her a  _freak_  in the Dursley's eyes. Like being able to grow back her hair overnight or suddenly teleporting onto the school's roof to get away from her cousin and his gang. The memory makes her shudder.

"I talked to snakes a lot - I was very lonely.", Harriet admits, her voice heavy with emotion, wincing at how pathetic she sounds. She doesn't know why she trusts Professor Snape enough to tell him. There is just something about him, something in his eyes that seems like he would understand.

"You were with the Dursleys.", he states, but it is a question as well. "Yes, I was.", she says plainly, then bites her tongue to stop herself from revealing more. His eyebrows draw together and he searches her face for some sign before clearing his throat. "You are excused now.", he tells her and she wastes no time to flee his office and leave for a place where she can hide and think in solitude.

What she finds is a ghost called Myrtle that tells her that she was  _killed_  by whatever is in the Chamber of Secrets.


	3. Year 2, Part 2

People avoid her. They treat her like she has the Plague, but that isn't too bad - her friends stick with her and the rest of Slytherin doesn't care whether she is the Heir or not. They have nothing to fear.

But Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws - they part like the Red Sea and they  _whisper_. That is the worst thing. The talking behind her back, their poorly concealed fear of her, their mocking, but not-so-secretly scared, exclamations of "Beware, the Heir is near!" when she enters a room or is seen in a corridor.

She hates it, has to fight the urge to punch or hex someone daily. Draco's support of her runs deep, she doesn't think he would stop her from beating up some of the more vocal bullies if he didn't think they would get in trouble.

Hermione tries to help her by lecturing everyone she overhears calling Harriet the Heir just how impossible it is for her to be the Heir, actually drawing charts and carrying Harriet's family tree with her to underline her point (of course it doesn't help  _at all_ , even if her Gryffindor friend means well).

Neville, precious and brave Neville, seems to find his voice in defence of her, telling Weasley to shut up when she and Weasley get into an argument on the way to Potions class.

All of it warms Harriet's heart - but it isn't enough. There's no way around it, she is absolutely miserable. She stops eating, cannot sleep - plagued by nightmares of the  _Voice_  and gains an unhealthy pallor two weeks into January after the holiday she spent in Hogwarts - mostly sneaking around with her Invisibility Cloak to find out more about Slytherin's monster. By now there's been two additional victims. Nearly Headless Nick and Justin - the very same that she was trying to save that day in the Duelling Club.

She knows that the monster must be something serpentine - because what else would Salazar Slytherin have that Harriet, a  _Parselmouth_ , would understand? But nothing that she's read about fits the modus operandi of whatever is at work here.

Thinking about all of that, Harriet picks idly at her breakfast, ignoring Pansy's and Draco's attempts to draw her into a conversation. And then she feels a prick at the back of her mind. Her scar begins to hurt and all of her attention zeroes in on that fact. When her scar hurts, it's usually a bad omen - evidenced by Quirrell causing countless unexplainable headaches. Harriet looks around and catches the intense gaze of a ginger-haired girl at the Gryffindor table, sitting next to Ronald Weasley. Something is off about her and Harriet reaches up to rub away the tension that begins to form in her head. The girl must be Weasley's younger sister by the resemblance that is clearly picked out in their faces.

When Hermione stands up, Harriet rises as well and quickly catches up with her friend, placing her hand on her shoulder and looking deep into whiskey-coloured eyes.

"Hermione", Harriet says, trying to convey the weight - the importance of her words "I need you to keep an eye on Weasley's sister.  _Really_  keep an eye on her. There is something weird going on with her and I need you to find out what it is." Hermione nods, her Gryffindor-ish courage showing and not backing down from a challenge. "Why do you think that Ginny is hiding something?", she asks, Know-It-All shining through. Harriet files the girl's name away for later. "My scar hurt when she looked at me.", Harriet replies meaningfully and Hermione, bright girl that she is; goes very pale and wide-eyed, comprehending the implications.

~~~

Harriet is on her way to the Dungeons, a week after tasking Hermione with spying, when said girl runs up to her, white as a sheet and hair even bushier than usual.

"You won't believe what I saw!", she tells Harriet, breathless, supporting her exhausted crouched over frame with hands on her knees. They usher into an unused classroom as soon as Hermione catches her breath enough to reveal her findings.

"I followed Ginny out of the castle. She seemed... _off_ when she left the Common Room, so I thought that I might catch her doing something she shouldn't. She went to Hagrid's Hut but she didn't enter, she moved in such a way that he wouldn't see her through the windows. Then she disappeared into some bushes and when she came back, she had a knife and a bucket. And then.... then she killed Hagrid's roosters, you know, the new ones he got when the old ones disappeared earlier this term. She just...twisted their necks and...", Hermione shudders, her eyes far away. Harriet draws the girl into her arms. "...and she cut them open and bled them out, into the bucket."

Tears shine in her friend's eyes and Harriet feels terrible that the bookworm had to go through that because Harriet asked her to spy on Ginny. "That's horrible, Hermione.", Harriet coos, seeking to soothe the Gryffindor. "We need to figure out what is happening, though. You said that Ginny seemed off? What do you mean?" Hermione wipes over her cheeks and tugs at her tie, a feeble attempt to make herself presentable again. "It was...as if she was  _possessed_.", she answers at last, whispering the last word, like she is afraid of saying it too loud.

"You know what that means, Hermione?" Her friend nods, always so smart, so quick. "Voldemort is back at Hogwarts." The certainty of it makes cold dread travel down Harriet's spine. "Yes, now we only need to figure out  _how_."

~~~

It is the beginning of March when Harriet visits Myrtle again, hoping that the teenaged ghost might remember something about her death that could help them. Myrtle talks about big yellow eyes and a boy's voice talking with words that she couldn't understand.  _Parseltongue_ , is what Harriet thinks to herself, her belief of a serpent in the Chamber solidifying.

Harriet also finds a diary, an empty diary with the initials TMR. She feels compelled to write in it, sitting on the floor of the girl's bathroom and when she writes a hesitant  _Hello diary_  it disappears into the pages. She almost throws the book away when a message comes back.  _Hello, my name is Tom Riddle. Whom am I speaking to?_ Harriet writes her name down, not seeing the harm in telling a diary who she is (ah, the naivete of childhood).

Tom talks to her for a while and she realises that he is old enough to have witnessed the Chamber's first opening. She asks him about it and he spins her some story about Hagrid and an Acromantula that she knows can't be true because Acromantulas are  _spiders_  and she can't talk to spiders. When she tries to argue with him that it can't be Hagrid, Tom seems to get angry, ink slashing violently against the pages and Harriet feels kind of tired...or drained. She doesn't notice it at first but then it becomes all too clear, an image rising from the pages, the face of a handsome young man, face twisted into a snarl. Lips moving as the words appear on the paper.

She hurls the diary away from herself which takes effort - some magic trying to keep it at her side - and runs away, cold sweat gathering on her skin. The thought that she shouldn't leave an item such as that in a place where everyone can find it, comes to her after a moment but when she returns, gloves in one pocket to retrieve it, it is gone. It makes a bad feeling sink in Harriet's stomach.

~~~

Draco is in the Common Room when she returns, his nose red and eyes glassy. He is shivering. "Draco", Harriet reprimands him, diary temporarily forgotten, "you're sick. What are you doing out of bed?" He coughs as he straightens in his seat, perspiration gathering on his skin. "I worry.", he croaks, voice hoarse. "You've been distracted. Barely talked to me. I don't even really know what's going on! You're always with Granger these days. Longbottom might be fine with watching from the side-lines but I'm not!" Harriet's chest constricts painfully - everything that Draco is saying is true. She scrambles to find the words for an apology.

"Draco, I-I'm sorry. Really! I am. I'll tell you all about what's been going on when you aren't sick anymore. You know that I don't keep you out of things on purpose. This has just taken up so much space in my mind that I didn't think...", the rest of her words is lost to distraction as Harriet's words die in her throat because Professor Snape has just entered the Common Room, Professor McGonagall standing outside as well, a few steps behind the Potions Master. Both of their faces kind of closed off, expressions grave.

"Miss Potter", her Head of House says, his deep voice uncharacteristically soft, "there has been another attack." And Harriet's ears are pounding because she knows only one Muggleborn well enough for Professor Snape to be so careful with her but that can't be, it can't be, Hermione can't- "Miss Granger has been petrified.", Professor McGonagall sighs, the words leaving her mouth only unwillingly. Harriet is unaware of her surroundings for a moment, surprised when she feels Draco's hands on her shoulders (Draco who is so out of it with the flu that he sways a bit). She jerks away from him, doesn't look in his eyes when she stares at Professor Snape, his dark eyes strangely comforting.

"Can I visit her?", she asks him and only him, and he inclines his head without pausing, his lanky hair framing his face as he turns and begins to walk, not doubting that Harriet will follow wherever he leads. Apparently, Draco tries to follow as well, only to be stopped by a stern-faced Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Malfoy, you are in no condition to go anywhere. The only reason for you to visit the Hospital Wing is to stay there yourself until your illness passes. Do go back to bed."

~~~

Harriet is trembling when she arrives at Hermione's bed, Snape having excused himself after leading her there.

The Gryffindor is ashen-faced, not moving an inch, no breath in her lungs.  _She's just petrified_ , Harriet tries to remind herself but it is difficult when _she looks so dead._  "Harriet.", the girl flinches and only now notices the boy sitting on a chair beside Hermione. "Neville.", Harriet answers and there are a few tense seconds when neither knows what to do. Then they are falling into each other’s arms, sobs bubbling up in Harriet's throat.

" _Oh, Neville_ ", she keens, "what is  _happening_? Hogwarts is supposed to be safe!" Neville doesn't reply, he lets her cry out all of her misery and strokes her back in a brotherly fashion that makes a surge of affection rush through Harriet. When she calms down, both of them sit down, Neville on his chair and Harriet on the edge of Hermione's bed. The redhead extends a hand to touch her friend's cheek, wincing at the coldness -  _she's just petrified_. She smooths a brown curl back behind Hermione's ear when she notices something out of the corner of her eye. A piece of paper in Hermione's clenched fist. Harriet wiggles it out of the stony grasp, unfolds it and barks out a bitter laugh. Slightly unhinged sounding even. "What is it, Harry?", Neville asks nervously and when did he start calling her that? She hands him the paper wordlessly, staring at her hands with an unidentifiable gleam in her green eyes.

"A Basilisk?", he questions, "what has that got to do with anything?" Harriet looks at him then, a grim grin splitting her face. Honestly, it looks scary. "It has to do with everything! Slytherin's monster is a Basilisk.", she explains as if it is the dumbest question she has ever heard. "But it states that a Basilisk's gaze kills the victim instantly....", he murmurs, trailing off. "Yes, and not one looked into its eyes directly! Think about it. Mrs. Norris saw it through the puddle, Colin through his camera and so on! That's why they are only petrified!" Her hair tumbles over her shoulders, as animated as she is. Neville nods along, catching onto her theory. "But how did no one see it? Basilisks are supposed to be hard to miss! They are giant snakes."

"Now that, Neville, is what we have to find out. I think that is what'll give us the final clue as to where the Chamber is."

~~~

The three of them, Draco insisting he can help after pestering her about it despite still being sick, spend hours poring over every bit of information they have. They meet in the Library (since Neville can't join them in the Slytherin Common Room and vice versa) and try to figure out where the Chamber is when Harriet has the idea to follow Ginny with her Invisibility Cloak wherever she goes.

Surely, eventually she'll catch the girl entering the Chamber. By now it seems like a fact that the diary must have something to do with it all, yet Harriet cannot, for the life of her, figure out how good-looking teenager Tom Riddle is connected to snake-faced Voldemort.

~~~

On the day that Harriet wants to start trailing behind Ginny, just half an hour after Herbology, the last lesson of the day, Neville catches her and Draco talking about how they'll cover up that Harriet won't be in the Dungeons in the afternoons. He is frantic, red from exhaustion. "You don't need to spy on Ginny. I know where the Chamber is. We need to go after her! I think You-Know-Who will kill her, she looked like a zombie!", he rambles and Harriet takes him by his shoulders to get him to make some sense. "Neville, slow down."

"The Chamber - it's in the girls' bathroom! You know, Myrtle's floor! We need to go there quick!", he already begins tugging at her sleeves when Draco intercepts, voice still raw and nose stuffy. "What am I supposed to do?", he asks, almost pouting. It's so totally like Draco that Harriet feels a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, despite the seriousness of the situation. "Draco, you alert a teacher - or better yet Dumbledore! He needs to know what's going on. If we don't come back, he'll need to know where to search. Hogwarts existence is in danger - if a student dies, this school will have to shut down! We can't let that happen."

The blonde Slytherin nods, he is not arrogant enough to think that he'd be anything but a nuisance in his sorry state.

~~~

Both Neville and Harriet are panting when they reach the sink that Neville saw Ginny  _hiss_  at. At first, she is not sure what to do but then decides to just try her luck. " **Open**.", she tells the sink and it obeys, a tunnel revealing itself slowly. The-Girl-Who-Lived goes first, wand clutched in her fist with Neville, her not-so-cowardly lion, right behind her.

It is extraordinarily dirty down there and they pass a giant shed snake skin on the way but they continue, spurred on by the fear that a girl could be dying right in this moment. When they finally reach the actual Chamber, they find Ginny lying on the floor, deathly white and barely breathing - the diary loosely in her hand.

Standing above her is Tom Riddle. Enraged, Harriet starts running towards the boy, barely dodging a spell that Tom fires at her with (presumably) Ginny's wand.

"Leave her alone, Riddle!", she screams, "You're killing her!" The adolescent has the gall to smirk and tuck a lock of dark hair back into place like a prick. He is wearing pristine Slytherin robes because - of course he is. It's never anything but Slytherin. They are the villains after all.

Riddle's eyes light up, a cruel gleam in them.

"But that is the  _point_ , my dear Miss Potter. Now tell me, how did an infant manage to banish Lord Voldemort from existence? How did you do it?", he asks, voice deceptively charming and sweet as honey.

"Neville", she whispers, choosing to ignore Tom, "take care of Ginny. See to her safety. I'll deal with  _the rest_. And keep your eyes closed as soon as you hear anything slithering around." Neville does as he's told, inching away from the pair to get closer to Ginny while Tom is distracted. "Why do you care, Tom? What do you have to do with Voldemort?"  _Why does the scar hurt?_  

"Are you one of his followers?" Tom laughs, a sound that could be described melodic if it wasn't for the circumstances. "Oh, I am so much more than that.", he raises the wand, conjuring fiery letters that spell out his name, his full name.  _Tom Marvolo Riddle._  He tells Harriet some poetic nonsense that she doesn't really listen to, eyes transfixed on the letters as they begin to rearrange themselves.

 _I am Lord Voldemort_  is what remains at the end. Another wave of terror grips her frame. And shouldn't she have known? Harriet herself has said it, her scar hurts when Voldemort is involved and she knew that Ginny had to be possessed by Voldemort by this whole thing to work. And yet, she didn't connect the dots that the diary must be Voldemort's. That Tom is Voldemort. Perhaps because she finds it hard to believe that the beautiful boy in front of her and the horrific Face-at-the-back-of-the-head are one and the same. She had clung to the believe that Voldemort, through Tom, was controlling Ginny. And now she finds herself practically slapped in the face with the obviousness of the truth, with the proof that the cruellest of people, the monster that killed her parents, once was a charming boy with a handsome face.

"Oh, you see now! Do you see that your endeavour is hopeless? You cannot compete with me. I will rectify the mistake that took place eleven years ago." With that he begins to speak in Parseltongue, calling out for his beast. " **Come, come to serve your master.** "

There is movement in the eye of the giant statue of Slytherin and Harriet promptly closes her eyes, calling out to Neville to do the same. Trying to figure out where things are with your eyes closed isn't easy, but Harriet has no problem knowing where the Basilisk is. She can feel its movement vibrating in the ground under her feet. She doesn't have a lot of time left to think. Taking a chance, she uses her own ability to, hopefully, barter with the Basilisk. (There is no way she can defeat it otherwise.)

" **Stop** ", she tells the deadly creature, " **Don't do what he says. He's just using you.** ", her lips warp around the hissing smoothly, years of unconscious practise paying off in that moment, " **He's not even really alive.** " The Basilisk does stop in its tracks and Harriet can feel its great body coiling and rippling in anticipation. " **Another speaker?** ", it rumbles, the voice clearer than all those times when Harriet only heard it calling out for blood. " **How unusual** ", it mutters but it still vibrates through Harriet's small frame. " **Yet you speak the truth. The first speaker is not of flesh - I cannot smell him. But he was the only one and I am sworn to obey. He was the first voice after a long time of silence.** "

Harriet feels sympathy blossom in her heart. If there was nothing and nobody around her for  _years_ she'd take the first one to listen to, too. " **Well, I am here now. You mustn't listen to him anymore.** "

Tom's/Voldemort's voice cuts into their conversation, " **No! KILL HER!** " But the great Basilisk does not move, weighing her words. " **You are not my master anymore. I don't like to be treated like a slave.** ", it decides and breaks whatever contract existed between itself and Tom. Harriet suddenly feels breath on her face. " **You can open your eyes now, little speaker. I've made it safe for you.** "

There is no reason to believe this big snake, no other reason than trusting it to be truthful. And so Harriet, cursing herself, opens her eyes, mentally preparing for either being dead or face to face with a Basilisk. What she sees first are greenish scales, a mouth, slitted nostrils and lastly, big grey eyes. Not yellow, like Myrtle described.  _Maybe that's the difference_ , Harriet thinks as she, thankfully, doesn't die on the spot. " **I promised, little speaker. Did you think I would lie?** ", there is something close to amusement in the serpent's tone and its tongue emerges from between its fangs to taste the air close to Harriet's head.

" **No! That's not how this is supposed to go! Kill her!** " Tom's voice bellows from behind the Basilisk, the giant body effectively shielding Harriet from Tom's wrath. " **Do you know how to destroy the diary? We need to get rid of him.** ", Harriet asks, still not able to really believe that her stupid plan worked. " **I could try biting it.** ", the Basilisk purrs (as much as a snake can purr - basically it's still a hiss), " **My venom can destroy many forms of dark magic.** "

And why not, Harriet thinks, they don't have a lot of time left before Ginny is lost and it's not like she has a better idea. " **Go on.** ", she tells the Basilisk and the serpent turns its head, not minding Voldemort's protests (Harriet suspects that he cannot actually move away from where he is until he is fully corporeal). Its fangs crash down with a surprising precision given the sheer size of the Basilisk and the diary bleeds ink when one of the Basilisk's teeth spears through it.

There is a terrible screeching and Tom tries to reach out before he explodes into ink like the diary, Ginny's wand clattering on the floor. Harriet's lungs expell all air in a rush as she lets herself fall down on her bottom, wiping dirt from her hands and allowing herself to just process for a moment

"Hey, I don't have a clue what happened but it kind of sounds like the fight is over. Can I open my eyes now?" Oh, she has totally forgotten about Neville who didn't understand a thing of what was said and done. "Yeah, you can open your eyes, Neville. But don't be scared.", she replies. The boy opens his eyes slowly, rising from his position on the floor beside Ginny.  
"Why would I be scared - Oh my god! Harry...t-the Basilisk!", Neville scrambles to cover his eyes again, not quite realising that he would be dead by now if the Basilisk actually wanted to kill him. "It's okay, Neville. The Basilisk is on our side. Kind of."

It takes a while to coax him into opening his eyes again but when he does, he is amazed by the Basilisk, complimenting it and Harriet translates his gratitude into Parsel with a soft smile. Harriet and Neville don't think it safe to transport Ginny in her fragile state (at least not with the spells at the disposal of a second year) and the Basilisk can't help either - without arms it's not easy to guarantee anything but a bumpy ride (not to mention that Ginny is unconscious and far too heavy for two exhausted twelve-year-olds to hoist up and hold onto). And so, they wait.

The Basilisk coils its body around the three and rests its head next to Harriet so the girl can lean on it. The snake's grey eyes alone are exponentially bigger than her fists. " **The thing with your eyes** ", Harriet comments, " **that's a neat trick.** " The snake snorts. " **Haven't used it much, I'm sure you understand.** " Harriet nods, stroking the Basilisk's cheek scales softly, enjoying the not-rough-not-smooth texture. She's not sure why she trusts the snake so quickly and explicitly, maybe it's some sort of kinship. If anything, Harriet can understand being lonely very well.

She allows herself a moment of peace. Ginny might be unconscious but her breathing is steady, the diary is gone and the monster tamed. There is, for once, nothing immediate to worry about. Well, maybe there is. How is she supposed to explain that the Basilisk is not to be harmed? " **Can you hide yourself?** ", she asks, " **You shouldn't be here when the teachers arrive. They won't understand and try to harm you.** " The Basilisk merely chuckles. " **I haven't been found for thousands of years. I think I'll manage a few more.** "

And that is why, when Professor Dumbledore and a frantic Professor McGonagall arrive, they find three students with no monster in sight. Harriet's answer to that only being: "It's gone for good. There is no need to worry." McGonagall eyes narrow at that but Dumbledore accepts the answer with a twinkle in his eyes and that is the end of the issue. (He also never did try to talk with her about being a Parselmouth.)

~~~

Ginny's family is already waiting when they arrive at the Hospital Wing. It is a strange experience for Harriet who is not used to such easy displays of love. The Malfoys are one thing but the Weasley are quite another calibre. It gets even stranger when the Weasleys are told that the filthy redhead with shining eyes and the lightening scar, snake embroidered on her breast, is the one who saved Ginny from a certain demise. They hug her, thank her, Molly Weasley even kisses her cheeks and strokes her unruly hair back, the embodiment of maternal kindness.

Snape watches from the corner of the room, his eyes fixed on her. He doesn't say a word and Harriet is reminded of last year when they were in much the same situation.

~~~

It takes a few days for Ginny to recover fully and as soon as the young Weasley is up and about, Harriet is surprised to note that she has gained a new shadow. Ginny is like a puppy, trailing behind Harriet and trying to do things for her (like carry her books). Harriet declines, of course, she doesn't need a lackey but she might like a friendly face. Luckily, Ginny isn't as dense as her brother and realises that quickly, reducing her showing of gratitude to waves across the Great Hall and smiles sent Harriet's way.

~~~

The term is way into May when the Mandrakes are grown enough to be used in the potion that will cure the petrification victims. Getting Hermione back after two months of absence is great and Harriet is beyond excited to share all that has happened since Hermione has been petrified. Well, maybe she leaves some things out - like the fact that she visits the Basilisk every few weeks to keep it company. Harriet's not sure what her friend would do with that particular bit of information.

After that, things pretty much return to normal. A few students apologize for thinking that Harriet was the Heir (most notably an embarrassed Justin) but with exams coming up, her deeds are soon forgotten. Professor Lockhart announces his resignation at the End of Term feast - probably because there are so many complaints about his utter ineptitude at teaching and dealing with the threat of danger. Slytherin, once again, wins the House Cup with a lead that's so big that there was no doubt who would win.

Most Slytherins credit the victory to her, having earned 200 points from Dumbledore for saving Ginny Weasley. It makes a smile rise on her face, happy to have accomplished  _something_  of academic worth this year. It's not exactly what she imagined in September but winning the House Cup for Slytherin is as much an honour as getting a string of Outstandings (as Hermione has miraculously accomplished despite her two months of being a statue - Harriet's grades might be above average but she'll never get close to  _that_ ).

~~~

The train ride back to London is spent the same as the one the year before. Truly, apart from her age, nothing much has changed. The dread of returning to her family is as present as ever. She is still powerless to defend herself against the Dursleys - even a friendly Basilisk can't help her there. And this time Draco can't even save her from a miserable summer break, being in France until the last days of August. Harriet wishes there was some alternative to going home each year.

She won't try to deny it - it feels strange to leave a world filled with magic, only to enter one so devoid of it.

 


	4. Year 3, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not completely happy with it, but here it is. Part 1 of Third Year (which has been my least favorite at least in terms of writing it).

Harriet's thirteenth birthday is not celebrated at the Dursleys' house. If it weren't for her friends’ gifts, she wouldn't have realised that the day had arrived. The presents are thoughtful and/or practical and, even though this is already the fourth time in her life that she has received gifts, it still stuns her to see the packages arrive via owl. The most memorable present is Neville's who sends her a book on caring for magical serpents. There is a section where the author suggests names and Harriet smiles, touched that Neville remembered that she is searching for a name for the Basilisk after it had told her that it didn't have one.

~~~

Harriet is not ashamed to admit that she hates 'Aunt' Marge. Whenever she and her menace of a dog visit, the young witch has to be even more of a family servant than usual and pretend as if she were stupid. It unnerves Harriet whenever Marge's disgusted gaze meets her own, the large woman insulting Harriet's parents under her breath. She clenches her hands, wanting to speak up but ultimately stays silent, knowing a lost cause when seeing one. Her sense of justice is not like Hermione's. And so, she stares into the air, counting dust particles as she absentmindedly makes dessert for the Dursleys.

~~~

The news reporter is talking about a convicted man on the loose whose last name is supposedly Black, when Dudley switches the channel, whining that he is bored, all while looking at his mother expectantly. Harriet shakes her head and quietly walks past them to ascend the stairs and enter her room, drawing as little attention to herself as possible.

~~~

Harriet knows that Vernon won't sign the permission slip but she has to try anyway. She can't just ask Petunia - her Aunt would never do something like that without asking her husband first. And Vernon will only be angrier if he finds out that way.  
"Uncle Vernon, sir, could you please sign this?" He laughs at her when he reads the piece of paper and throws it back at her. "Why should I allow you to run around in that freak village? I won't be signing any of that stuff. Sitting around alone seems like a deserving punishment for a freak like you."

~~~

Hermione mentions in a letter that she is staying at Diagon Alley with her parents for a while since her parents want to grow more accustomed to the world their daughter is growing up in and tells Harriet two things; one: she bought a half-kneazle as a pet and named it Crookshanks and two: there is a criminal called Sirius Black that escaped from Azkaban (the first to ever do so) and is now on the loose. Apparently, there are posters warning of him everywhere. Something that Hermione cannot answer however is why he was convicted in the first place. No one seems to be willing to tell her what this "Sirius Black" did.

Following that letter, she does the only logical thing and writes Draco, asking him about Black. If any of her friends can answer, it will most certainly be him.

~~~

 _You're asking because he escaped, aren't you? (...) He is from old blood. But he was your godfather. Just like Professor Snape is mine (...) He and your father were apparently best friends in school (...) He was their secret keeper. Everyone knew. And he betrayed them to Voldemort. That is why he found you that night. (...) He turned out to be loyal to the Dark Lord all along. He killed Pettigrew, another friend of your father's and some muggles in an explosion over realising that His Lord had not been able to kill you. (...) People think that he's probably searching for you, to finish the job that the Dark Lord started._  

Harriet's hands shake as she reads and rereads Draco's letter. She wants to be strong  _but how can she when there is a MURDERER after her?_  This is different that all those times she faced danger. All of that was head-on. Not this kind of...dread. And the thought that her parents  _trusted_  this man with their lives! It makes her angry, how could he betray them? Condemn them to their death? Her parents were people he knew since they were children...

Harriet's red hair, her mother's hair, surrounds her like a pool of blood when she buries her face in her pillow and cries herself to sleep, the sounds of her sobs only slightly muffled by the damp fabric.

~~~

The rest of her break is spent in constant worry but she tries not to let her uneasiness show when she boards the train to Hogwarts. She's a bit late and cannot seem to find any of her friends besides Hermione who is also looking for a place to sit. Not seeing any alternatives, they finally settle down in a compartment that's already occupied by a ragged looking man that appears to be asleep. His face is criss-crossed with scars and he looks like he's aging prematurely, brown hair still full but greying slightly at the sides.

Harriet and Hermione guess that he's probably the new DADA teacher.  _Professor Snape will be displeased_ , the Girl-Who-Lived thinks,  _Dumbledore choosing some random unkempt guy over him, even though he is more than qualified for the job._

~~~

Halfway into the journey, the temperature abruptly drops. An unnatural chill settles in the air and both Harriet and Hermione shiver, looking at each other quizzically. The Gryffindor seems to want to stand up and go ask train personnel but Harriet quickly stops her friend, nimbly grabbing her by the wrist and quietly pointing at a dark looming shape passing by the window. The cold seems to surround its cloaked form and Harriet can even see inhuman clawed hands through the gaps of black cloth. "What  _was_ that?", she asks when it has passed by. "I think...- I think that was a Dementor.", Hermione answers, almost out of habit, her voice distant, still distracted by the creature that had been so close to them. "Then what is it doing here?", is Harriet's retort - Dementors are meant to be guarding Azkaban after all, not flying around in Scotland on the way to Hogwarts. Her bushy-haired friend looks at her, eyes narrowed. "You know what, Harry? I have no idea."

A clatter somewhere in the train makes the two jump. It sounded... as if something had forcefully entered.

Both girls hold their breath, eyes focused on the door to their compartment as a deathly silence falls over the train. Harriet's ears strain and then she can hear it, laboured rattling breath and her skin prickles, the increasing coldness making goose bumps rise. She feels Hermione's hand fist in her sleeve as the world seems to stop for a brief tense moment; the next their door is pushed aside slowly to reveal not a teacher or another student but a Dementor with its face hidden behind the shadows of its hood.

A clawed hand grabs the wall, Dementor floating inside and for some reason Harriet knows that it is there for her. Its presence fills her with despair, as though there is no light left in life and she knows that that must be its power. To take away all warmth and leave you with your worst memories.

A woman's scream echoes in Harriet head and a boy's lilting voice whispers:  _How did an infant manage to banish Lord Voldemort from existence? I will rectify the mistake that took place eleven years ago._ The shadow of a man, a parasite leeching of another appears before her mind's eye  _You dare to speak my name!_  

Harriet stumbles, drained of her strength, wide eyes fixed on the advancing creature. She cannot see its eyes (if it even has eyes) but the black shadows terrify her and she cannot do anything but stare, still and deathly pale as the Dementor leans into her...

She feels  _it_  pulling at her, tearing at her very being and Harriet's vision swims as a desperate cry leaves her throat, cold sweat gathering on her skin.

She does not remember much beyond that point. When Harriet wakes up again, the train has almost arrived in Hogwarts and the sleeping man is not so asleep now. He smiles kindly at her, and offers her a piece of chocolate as she sits up and notes that she has been sleeping (or more likely been unconscious) with her head on Hermione's lap. The Muggleborn studies her face, brow creased as she searches for any signs that Harriet is not yet feeling well before Hermione jerks her head in the man's direction - who is still silently holding the chocolate. "You can take it. He's not a weirdo. It helps against the after effects of meeting a Dementor." The man snorts at Hermione's assessment of him and Harriet takes the chocolate, taking a cautious bite. It  _does_  help soothe the lingering ache in her body.

"The Dementor - why was it there?", she asks around a second piece, head tilting. The man answers, voice rough but warm. A bit familiar in a weird way. "It was probably there to guard the train-" Hermione interrupts him, an incredulous look on her face. " _Guard_? It did a great job of that! It  _attacked_  Harry!" The fierce glare in Hermione's brown eyes causes affection for her friend to bloom in Harriet's chest. The mousy-haired man lets the almost fourteen-year-old speak before continuing. It seems that it's not the first time he's forced to handle a wilful woman and knows not to interrupt her rant. "Yes, it seems that the Ministry doesn't have them as under control as they like to believe."

"But why were Dementors asked to guard the train in the first place?", Harriet questions, and the man's face darkens.  
"You must have heard about the recently escaped murderer...Sirius Black. The Ministry believes that he will go after you and sent the Dementors to keep him away."

"But the Dementors themselves are incredibly dangerous! One would've  _kissed_  Harry if it hadn't been for you stepping in, Mr...?", Hermione trails off, embarrassed that she had forgotten to ask his name. He scratches the back of his head, flustered too. "I guess that I haven't introduced myself. My name is Remus Lupin. But to you I will be Professor Lupin."

~~~

The first she sees of Draco is at the Sorting Ceremony. Harriet takes her seat beside him, already mentally groaning at the concerned look he shoots her. It doesn't look good on his pointed face. It seems that the news of the train accident travelled fast.

~~~

"Which electives did you take, again? I can't believe I didn't think to ask.", Harriet asks her friends once the four of them have all finished eating. Draco is decidedly uncomfortable with sitting at the Gryffindor table, even if only temporarily and looks like he'd rather be back at Slytherin's table with Pansy and the others. "I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.", is Neville's answer. Draco's, Harriet already knows. He had told her while they were eating. Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. Some as Harriet.  
"Oh", Hermione says when they look at her, "I'm taking all of them!" Draco's eyes widen and he gapes at her "A-all of them? But that's not possible!" The Gryffindor glares at him and the blonde almost shrinks beneath her gaze before remembering that, as a pureblood, he has a reputation to maintain. "Just watch me!", is Hermione's reply, the young lioness crossing her arms in defiance.

~~~

Divination is a waste of time and every other lesson filled with Professor Trelawney predicting Harriet's gruesome death. Or at least that's what Hermione tells Harriet as Neville quietly laughs into his sleeve.

Harriet's glad she decided not to take the elective. Ancient Runes seems much more useful than looking at tea leaves or a glass ball.

~~~

Professor Lupin is a good teacher. At least in comparison to the other two DADA teachers that Harriet has had. He is kind, encouraging, knowledgeable and most certainly not a fraud. With him, she actually enjoys DADA. He treats her differently than the others, though. Harriet guesses that it might be because she's The-Girl-Who-Lived.

~~~

Their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson is a total disaster. The Hippogriffs are magnificent but proud creatures and,  _of course_ , Draco manages to piss one off enough that it half-heartedly attacks him, scratching his arm in the process. He cries like Buckbeak tore it in two and lets Pansy fawn over him when he arrives at dinner with a a bandage and sling on his arm. "I've already written a letter to my father! He'll have that savage beast put down!" That's what grabs Harriet's attention and she turns to him, eye twitching. "You did what?!", it comes out almost like a growl. Draco looks at her, put off. "Draco, Buckbeak scratched you because you were stupid! It's not as if you're crippled!" "Bu-but it's a dangerous creature, Harry! Surely you'll understand..."

"No, Draco, I don't!"  _If only you knew that I'm keeping on even more dangerous creature - if you can even call it 'keeping'._ That reminds her, she needs to visit the Basilisk soon. She's finally decided on a name (she couldn't keep calling it 'Basilisk' after all). "And I'm not sitting with you if you insist on being an entitled and arrogant prat!"

~~~

Hermione is acting weirdly. Her friend thinks that she doesn't notice. How could she not? Harriet isn't stupid, she knows something is up when she sees the Gryffindor disappear in one direction and appear behind her as if she hadn't just left. But Harriet doesn't worry, she'll find out.

Oh, and somehow Harriet keeps seeing a black dog out of the corner of her eye, only for it to disappear when she tries to get a better look.

~~~

One day, Professor Lupin tells them that they'll study Boggarts. They are creatures with no real corporeal form, when faced with someone they just transform into that person's worst fear. To defeat them one must only laugh at them with the help of one handy spell named  _Riddikulus_.

All of the students get in line behind the cabinet where the Boggart hides, Harriet being one of the first more by accident than actually wanting to go so early. Draco is two people in front of her, Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein separating them. Professor Lupin's teaching robes are a muted brown today and his remaining scarred hands is buried in one of the many pockets as he opens the door of the cabinet for the first student with the other.  
Nothing emerges from the cabinet at first as Harriet watches with bated breath, nervously fiddling with the green-lined hem of her sleeve.

The student, a meek Ravenclaw that Harriet doesn't know the name of, draws her wand, hand shaking a bit and seems to see something other than darkness in the depths of the cabinet. A second later, a giant bleeding eye appears, darting wildly from left to right. A few Slytherins snicker, deeming the girl's fear silly and Harriet shoots them a dark look. The Ravenclaw's face has gone deathly pale and Professor Lupin smiles at her reassuringly, "Remember. The incantation is  _Riddikulus_. You can do it." Gathering her confidence, the girl casts and with a  _whoosh_ the eye transforms into a pink balloon, floating to the roof of the room unintentionally. A snort escapes the Ravenclaw and the Boggart's form quivers, crashing into the cabinet again as it loses its body.

The same thing happens with the other students, Draco standing out if only for the fact that he had been so cocky and sure of himself and then only barely managed to banish the image of a sneering and disappointed Lucius Malfoy by turning him into an overstuffed peacock with muggle clothes.

 _It's my turn now_ , is what Harriet thinks as she steps up, heart beating loudly against her ribcage. She's not sure what her Boggart would turn into - there are so many things that could be her greatest fear. Positioning herself with her wand in her hand, she looks at Professor Lupin, expecting him to open the door for her like he did with everyone else. He seems hesitant, hand hovering over the handle, his eyes flickering between the wood and her own green eyes. There's something he sees there that Harriet is not aware of.

"I think", he says at last, voice starting of shaky, "that we are finished for today." There is a moment of confused silence before the line disperses, the students chattering amongst themselves and packing their things, grateful to get off early. Harriet is left standing awkwardly in front of the cabinet, only startled out of her stupor by Professor Lupin's approach. "Aren't you going with young Mr. Malfoy? You two seemed to be friends." Harriet looks at him, really looks him, shabby clothes paired with a kind smile and tucks a strand of unruly hair out of her sight.

"Oh, yes, we are friends. Or at least we will be again when he comes to his senses.", her Professor chuckles at that. "I know that situation. I also had friends that sometimes could use a smack on the back of their heads. But I would've never wanted them to be different...", he trails of, shifting from one foot to another, changing the subject, "Is something the matter, Miss Potter? You normally don't stay behind after class." A sharp nod. "Yes. There is, in fact. Why did you end the lesson when I was supposed to face the Boggart? I know that you did it on purpose. I could see it in your eyes. Did you think I wouldn't be able to do it?"  
Harriet knows that there is a bitter flavour to her words. She can't help it, she detests being treated differently because of who or what she is or isn't. Some people look at her robes, seeing only the green instead of the red they expect and then write of her accomplishments as a fluke. She can't stand that. Just because she's a Slytherin doesn't mean she can't be brave! It's simply not what she values most.

"N-no, that's not it, Miss Potter. I was just concerned about what your Boggart would be. You have faced much worse things than others your age. I figured that your worst fear would be appropriate to your experiences.", there's sympathy in his eyes, like he  _knows_  her, and for some reason it infuriates her.  _How dare he assume he that she couldn't handle it!_  She doesn't need to be coddled, hell, there's a murderer after her - she needs to be prepared, able to defend herself. Protecting her  _sensibilities_  won't help her survive. "Please let me try, sir. Let me face the Boggart."

"What, right now?", he retorts, clearly surprised by her sudden fervour. "Yes, why not? Now's as good as ever."  
Clutching her wand harder, she shoots her Professor a look that toys the line between respectful and defiant. The man ignores it in favour of a more diplomatic approach. "I really don't think-"

The door opens with a bang, Harriet's Head of House striding in with his usual dramatic manner, like a wave crashing into the shore but with a certain kind of sleek grace. He is wearing black - Professor Snape is very rarely seen in any other colour. His hair hangs limply into his pale face, also black like raven's feathers.  
It is not the first time that Harriet has seen him enter a room like this,  _so confidently, filling the whole place_ , but she has never noticed him so acutely as in that moment ( _or perhaps she did, just a little, when he defeated Lockhart so effortlessly_ ), mouth set in a grim line and his onyx eyes narrowing over his roman nose. There is a weird clenching in her gut which Harriet feels best to examine at another time.

"What", he asks dryly, "are you doing here after class has ended, Miss Potter?" All of his words are very carefully pronounced in that deep tone and Harriet doesn't believe she knows anyone with a voice quite like his. It carries very easily, he never even has to speak loudly - he sounds threatening enough when only murmuring. "And you,  _Lupin_ ", he adds, not bothering to hide his disdain for the DADA teacher, "don't you have anything  _more important_  to do? Do you really think entertaining Miss Potter after lessons is the  _best way_  to conduct yourself?" The mousy looking man splutters, turning a bit red. Harriet feels her face heat up as well. The situation must seem odd from Professor Snape's perspective even though it is perfectly innocent.

"What are you implying, Severus? That I would....", he clears his throat, "Why are you here?" The dark Potion Master quirks an eyebrow. "I am here to deliver  _your medicine_. As per Dumbledore's orders. I trust that you know what to do with it.", with that he produces a bottle from a pocket (that did not look like it had anything that large inside of it) and hands it to Professor Lupin who takes it with an unreadable look on his face. Harriet watches the exchange with great interest. It is then that Professor Snape turns to her.

"And you are coming with me. I will take you to your next lesson." Swallowing, Harriet tries to deflect. Her Head of House does NOT seem to be in a good mood. She's not sure she's ready to face an angry Snape. "But sir, I...", he doesn't listen to her, already striding out of the room. Glancing at Lupin reveals him to be absorbed in studying the bottle he has placed on his desk and so Harriet has no choice but to follow after her Potion Professor quickly, shutting the door to the DADA classroom behind her.

After a few steps, Snape abruptly stops in his tracks and addresses her face to face. "You are to stay from Lupin. I am telling you this as your Head of House, questionable as your Sorting into Slytherin may be."  _Aww Professor, still this after more than two whole years?_  "Why, sir? Is Professor Lupin not a trustworthy man? He seems to be kind and Dumbledore did choose him, so he can't be that bad?" Snape merely looks at her sternly at that statement - probably silently remembering Dumbledore's previous 'choices'.

"You only need to know that Lupin is not quite...impartial concerning some  _topics_. And I  _will_  take points if I catch you sticking your nose into things that don't concern you." He says it as if the thought of taking points from Slytherin pains him a little. Harriet allows herself a small smirk. "Of course, sir. Wouldn't expect you to act otherwise." The redhead rights the striped tie around her neck and adds, "Am I excused now, sir? I don't actually have any lessons after DADA, since I don't take Divination or Muggle Studies."

~~~

The Chamber of Secrets is as cold and wet as Harriet left it before going on the break. The young Parselmouth, careful not to slip on some stone, tracks through the tunnels, thinking about the events of the day. Her invisibility cloak is clutched in her left hand. It is quite late and Harriet can feel the hour catching up with her but she had needed to wait until the other girls in her dorm were asleep before slipping out.

" **Speaker?** ", a hiss calls out from the Chamber. " **It's me.** " And there the Basilisk is, its coiling body massive and yet non-threatening to Harriet. The girl almost laughs, remembering when she was afraid of the big serpent. It's harmless, really. Or at least to Harriet.

The Basilisk lowers its giant head to Harriet's eye level, tongue flicking at the air close to her face to taste her scent. At first that habit unnerved Harriet, now she just bears with it, standing still until the Basilisk is finished with its inspection. " **Can't have my speaker dying on me.** ", it once said. If it helped the Basilisk achieve some peace of mind, Harriet doesn't see why she shouldn't allow it.

" **I've thought about it, and I think I have a fitting name for you.** ", Harriet begins and the Basilisk inclines its head. " **Apep. It's the name of the old Egyptian deity of chaos. It's depicted as a giant serpent - that's why I chose it. Do you like it?** "

" **I do not mind it. It has a nice sound to it. Ah-pep.** " A relieved sigh escapes Harriet's throat. " **I'm glad that you like it, Appi.** " If snakes were able to growl, the serpent would've done it. As it is, Apep only swats its tail at the Slytherin playfully.

~~~

The following night the portrait of the Fat Lady is attacked by, allegedly, Sirius Black. It confuses people - why would Black attack the entrance to Gryffindor Tower if he is after Harriet Potter? Surely, he would know that she lives in the Dungeons?

The students all have to sleep in the Great Hall that night while some teachers search the castle for Black. Professor Snape and the Headmaster are one of those who stay behind to look after the students.

The sleeping bag that Harriet lies in is barely warm enough and she is shaking at the thought of this murderer who wants to kill her, her memory flashing back to the horrible tears in the Fat Lady's portrait every time she tries to close her eyes. "Draco.", she whispers to the blonde lying next to her. "Yeah?", he answers, voice rough from sleep. "I'm sorry that I've been difficult. I just don't want anything to happen to Buckbeak." There's a short pause. "I'm sorry too. It was kind of childish of me. Forgive me?"

"Always.", another moment of silence. "I'm afraid, Draco.", unbidden she feels the sting of tears. What has she ever done to deserve this life? "I can imagine. But you're not alone. Black won't get to you. I promise. Your Gryffindor friends will probably say the same."

Sometimes Draco has his moments. This is one of them. It makes her believe that their friendship truly is genuine.

~~~

"Hermione, slow down!", Harriet shouts after the Gryffindor. "I can't right now, Harry, I'm busy! I have to go to class." The Slytherin, still hot on her friend's heels, questions: "When do you have time? It seems like you never have time for us anymore! When was the last time we sat down and just talked, Hermione?" The witch peeks at her through her bushy and, by the looks of it, tangled hair. Does she not even have enough time to brush her hair? The day has just barely started. Hermione looks like she has already been up for at least half of one.

"Look, I know. I'll definitively drop some subjects next year. Divination is a load of rubbish, anyway. I'll try to make more time for you.", as she says it, her hand unconsciously reaches up to the gold chain around her neck and Harriet wonders for the first time when Hermione started wearing necklaces.

~~~

The Quidditch match Slytherin vs. Gryffindor is the only one she attends - and only for Draco's sake at that, which makes it incredibly ironic that it would also be the one where the Dementors that since the train ride had behaved and stayed away from the school grounds, decide to swarm the Quidditch field, making Harriet pass out on the spot. She's just glad she was on the ground and not up on a broom. That would've been quite the disaster.

~~~

When the second Hogsmeade weekend rolls by, Harriet is prepared to spend it in Hogwarts like the first one, slipping away to visit Apep. That is not what happens. Instead, she is cornered by the Weasley twins whom she has never really spoken to before and told by them that, since she saved Ginny last year, they feel like they owe her.

Having caught wind of her Hogsmeade dilemma, they present her with a solution; the Marauder's Map. She takes it, of course, and thanks them for their kindness, but decides that she can wait until the next weekend to test it out - she has actually been looking forward to a conversation with her serpentine friend.

The message from Hagrid that Buckbeak is going to be put on trial, destroys that nice evening.

(When she asks him, Draco insists that he couldn't convince his father not to step in and that he didn't tell her because he didn't want her to worry.)

~~~

Her second chance to face her greatest fear comes a day after Hagrid's horrible announcement. She can sense that Professor Lupin is still against it but she is the first in line this time and he cannot force her not to do it without causing a scene. And so he opens the cabinet, Harriet's heart beating in time with his footsteps as he retreats a little. She briefly closes her eyes, mentally steeling herself for whatever horror is to come. She thinks the Boggart might become a Dementor, she is deathly afraid of these things, or even Voldemort (as Quirrell or Tom Riddle) but what exits the darkness is neither.

"Freak! What the fuck are you doing? Throw that stupid stick away! You know what you get for misbehaving!", booms Vernon's voice - and the Boggart decided to make him bigger than he actually is, more looming - just like he is in her mind. The nightmare of her childhood. Harriet cannot supress the tremor that runs through her at the anger in his voice, her own automatic reply stuttered. "P-please don't. I don't w-want...-" Harriet shakes her head to chase the memories away. Her red hair catches her eye. Red like her skin after Vernon is finished with her. A sob rises in her throat but stays lodged there, trapped by her shame. She hasn't thought about these things for a while now; she thought that she was over it. Evidently not.

Boggart Vernon stalks toward her, his heavy steps loud as thunderbolts over the floor. "Come here!", he shouts, meaty hand reaching to grab her by the scruff of her neck. Subconsciously she knows that the Boggart is only pretending, it can't actually touch her, but she shrinks away all the same, afraid of the pain of Vernon's touch. Harriet does not think to raise her wand and cast  _Riddikulus_.

Instead she hears Professor Lupin clear his throat and sees him step between her shivering form and the Boggart. It immediately transforms into a white orb, gleaming ominously. Lupin banishes it quickly and Harriet feels his eyes on her. There are questions in them. Things that Harriet doesn't want to talk about.  
And so she flees before he can even say one word. Tears burn behind her eyelids as she blindly runs towards the girl's toilet.

She visits Apep and cries silently into its scaled skin.

~~~

Not even a day later, an older Slytherin, Gemma, taps Harriet on the shoulder at breakfast to tell her that Professor Snape wishes to speak with her after her last lesson of the day. Her green eyes look up at the Head Table, quickly finding the Potion Master's dark ones. They are unfathomable, giving nothing away.

When the time finally arrives, she is positively nauseous, only knocking on the door to Professor Snape's office through the sheer power of her will. He tells her to come in curtly, no indication to his mood.  
She hovers awkwardly in front of his desk, not sure what to do since he is still grading papers and he looks up suddenly, ordering Harriet to sit down on the chair across from him.  
"Sir-", she tries to start but he silences her with a hand. "Miss Potter, you know why you are here.", it is not a question and the redhead nods once. "It has come to my attention that the situation at your home may be more...delicate than I thought. Is that correct?" Another nod. "Then why haven't you come to any of us with that information?"

"Sir, I thought...I thought it wasn't important. It's nothing special. The Dursleys have always treated me this way." Her Professor's eyes are endless and secretive but Harriet suspects that she saw a flicker of surprise cross his features. "Miss Potter, this is very important. Tell me, has your uncle ever...  _touched_  you?", his words are uncharacteristically careful - clipped like he has to forcefully push them out of his mouth. Harriet is confused for a moment until she understands his meaning and answers with an energetic shake of her head, red hair flying over her shoulders. "N-no, sir. Never.", a pause, "He rarely even beats me, too. Only when I have done something very wrong. I guess he doesn't like to touch the freak. Mostly I am just ignored or put in the cupboard." Some of the tension falls off of her Head of House. It seems that the thought that Vernon could have done something inappropriate to her has been one of his biggest concerns. "And what about your aunt? Doesn't she ever defend you?"

"Oh, no. She's the same way. She hates me. She hated my parents, until I knew about magic, I thought my parents died in a car crash. She always described them as good-for-nothing."  
The air feels charged now and Harriet looks at her Professor to see him clenching his hands. "That  _woman_.", he spits, "I'd hoped that Petunia would get a little wiser with age." That's new. Why would her Professor know Aunt Petunia? Harriet had never even mentioned her by name. "You know Aunt Petunia, sir? How?"

"Your mother and I were the same age, and lived in the same street as children. I knew her well, and through her, your aunt. She hasn't changed a bit.", Professor Snape had lived in a Muggle neighbourhood? Interesting. And unexpected. He seemed like someone who would've grown up far away from them, closer to the magic world.

"So, you were in the same year as my parents, Professor? Could you maybe...tell me a bit about them? Or at least my mother?", Harriet asks, voice hopeful.  
"I'd rather not." Snape's answer is short and more crushing than Harriet would like to admit. "Oh...alright." She hopes her disappointment is not too plain to see.

"To my regret, we cannot remove you from the Dursley's home, there are blood protection there that you cannot have anywhere else. With current events, it is more dangerous than ever for you to be out and about. There are still followers of the Dark Lord around that would jump at the chance to be the one to kill you."

The-Girl-Who-Lived had in truth never expected to be rescued from her situation but it still hurts to know that, even though people are now aware, they wouldn't do anything about it.

  
~~~

The winter holiday is nothing special - Harriet has more time to spend with Apep and also visits Hagrid more than once to console him about Buckbeak - her Care of Magical Creatures teacher is convinced that the Hippogriff will be put to death and Harriet cannot pretend that she thinks that that won't be the case. Malfoy Snr. has too much influence for Buckbeak to get off lightly.

On Christmas, Harriet receives a present without a sender - which she promptly gives to a teacher, worried that it is a cursed item sent by Black. It turns out to be an ordinary ( _not in price_ ) necklace with the initials HLP ( _Harriet Lily Potter_ ) carved into an intricate silver leaf. It is very lovely.

She doesn't exactly wear it but she doesn't throw it away, either.


End file.
